Tag: Services

Report: EU Floats Social Security Payments For ‘Electronic Persons’

Report: EU Floats Social Security Payments For 'Electronic Persons'

European authorities are reportedly questioning whether manufacturers should be on the hook for the impact of factory robots on human employees and social services.

Reuters reports that a draft European Parliament motion would urge reconsideration of a wide range of issues in the age of automation.

One provision would ask whether "the most sophisticated autonomous robots could be established as having the status of electronic persons with specific rights and obligations."Another floated the possibility of funds to cover the liability of individual smart robots, while another suggested that robot owners could pay social security in order to sustain those programs […]

The return of the machinery question

The return of the machinery question

THERE IS SOMETHING familiar about fears that new machines will take everyone’s jobs, benefiting only a select few and upending society. Such concerns sparked furious arguments two centuries ago as industrialisation took hold in Britain. People at the time did not talk of an “industrial revolution” but of the “machinery question”. First posed by the economist David Ricardo in 1821, it concerned the “influence of machinery on the interests of the different classes of society”, and in particular the “opinion entertained by the labouring class, that the employment of machinery is frequently detrimental to their interests”. Thomas Carlyle, writing […]

Automation and anxiety

Automation and anxiety

SITTING IN AN office in San Francisco, Igor Barani calls up some medical scans on his screen. He is the chief executive of Enlitic, one of a host of startups applying deep learning to medicine, starting with the analysis of images such as X-rays and CT scans. It is an obvious use of the technology. Deep learning is renowned for its superhuman prowess at certain forms of image recognition; there are large sets of labelled training data to crunch; and there is tremendous potential to make health care more accurate and efficient.

Dr Barani (who used to be an oncologist) […]

Re-educating Rita

Re-educating Rita

IN JULY 2011 Sebastian Thrun, who among other things is a professor at Stanford, posted a short video on YouTube, announcing that he and a colleague, Peter Norvig, were making their “Introduction to Artificial Intelligence” course available free online. By the time the course began in October, 160,000 people in 190 countries had signed up for it. At the same time Andrew Ng, also a Stanford professor, made one of his courses, on machine learning, available free online, for which 100,000 people enrolled. Both courses ran for ten weeks. Mr Thrun’s was completed by 23,000 people; Mr Ng’s by […]

Ericsson: we should embrace ICT as a tool for transformation

Technology is a tool for transformation. It is the application of scientific knowledge for practical purposes, especially when it comes to industry. We should embrace ICT as a tool for change as it promotes inclusive social and economic development for all.

Who could have imagined twenty years ago the ICT industry we have today and the possibilities it offers? Who could have imagined that mobile technology has the potential to help put an end to extreme poverty and hunger, whilst providing universal access to healthcare, secondary education and energy services? That smart solutions can make our cities more sustainable, safer […]

Will new technologies put us out of work? A peek into the future

Will new technologies put us out of work? A peek into the future

Over the past year, questions about how emerging technologies will impact employment have taken on a new tenor. Will robots take over our jobs? One thing is indisputable: automation and artificial intelligence (AI) will displace workers in the IT and business process outsourcing services industry.

But this is not a new trend.

+ Also on Network World: The 6 hottest new jobs in IT + Such tectonic shifts have occurred every few decades over the last two centuries. With each wave of new technology and each accompanying paradigm shift, jobs have disappeared. During the Industrial Revolution, people feared the loss […]

What will the world of work look like in 2066?

What will the world of work look like in 2066?

Credit: Getty Images MT at 50: From robot domination to self-led organisations, here are three scenarios of what our working lives could look like in 50 years’ time.

Looking back is much easier than looking forward – when Management Today published its first issue in 1966, Britain was debating decimalisation, the average weekly wage was £14 and workers were enjoying a ‘golden age’ of employment and easy-to-find jobs.

As our Future of Work special report has demonstrated, we’ve come a long way since then, but it’s safe to say that the changes over the next 50 years will be ever […]

How robots will change the world

How robots will change the world

Artificial intelligence and robotic technologies could lead to mass unemployment. Our economy will need profound changes to avoid social unrest, says Simon Wilson. Will robots take over?

No – but they might steal your job. The rapid advances in artificial intelligence (AI), sensor development and other areas mean that robots are acquiring a range of skills – from diagnosing disease to driving cars to understanding natural language – that used to be the preserve of humans. That doesn’t mean that robots are about to become self-aware and take over, like Skynet in the Terminator films.

In real life, robots and […]

How About Some Real 21st Century Thinking?

How About Some Real 21st Century Thinking?

For several years now, I have thought it would benefit the nation to simplify our anti-poverty approach…even though there is currently a gradual reduction in the number of households living below the poverty line. I have thought it would be a more enlightened, practical, efficient and effective approach to guarantee everyone a certain minimum income.

Each legal adult resident might receive $20,000 per year and each minor $10,000. Or in many technical proposals of this nature, each would get a guaranteed after tax income of this nature if their own resources fell below a certain level. In my mind, the […]

Where have all the good jobs gone?

Where have all the good jobs gone?

The good jobs are disappearing. Those that predated the digital revolution are dropping away altogether or being replaced by low-paying service jobs and other less secure employment. These include part-time jobs, freelance contracting and gig opportunities. The number of Americans working under these arrangements rose by 9.4 million from 2005 to 2015; 48 million Americans are now in low paying jobs.

This growing job shift is transformational. For employers, it offers new efficiencies and greater flexibility. Workers are cheaper and fewer can demand benefits. Employers can staff-up as needed; workers take the risks.

Momentous technological advances exert a steady and downward […]