Tag: software

Automated 3D Printing: How Industrial Additive Manufacturing Is Evolving

Automated 3D Printing: How Industrial Additive Manufacturing Is Evolving

For years, science fiction has portrayed images of robots and appliances catering to every need and whim of human managers completely automatically. In some ways, 3D printers have represented the first steps toward such sci-fi visions of the future: simply punch in a design and the machine fabricates the object, as though out of thin air. For this reason, MakerBot dubbed its desktop 3D printer the “Replicator,” after the Star Trek device that could reconstitute matter into anything desired by the ship’s crew. An industrial robotic arm can swap out used pellet containers or tool heads in Stratasys’ Infinite […]

AI-Based Systems Are Becoming As Smart As, If Not Smarter Than Us

AI-Based Systems Are Becoming As Smart As, If Not Smarter Than Us

After outlining the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) and automation on jobs, work processes and tasks, a recent report from British accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) predicted that the most affected employment segment by automation over the next 5 to 8 years will be administrative and white collar office jobs.

Yet a new study has shown that AI can already work faster than lawyers on certain non-core legal tasks such as reviewing legal contracts. In the study, the Tel Aviv-based AI startup LawGeex put 20 top corporate lawyers – who had decades of experience in reviewing non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) and whose […]

B.C. breakthrough highlights rise of the robots

B.C. breakthrough highlights rise of the robots

Genesis Robotics has developed an actuator that can lower costs and reduce the bulk of robots. The company has also patented designs for an exoskeleton that uses the actuator to assist people with disabilities | Submitted A robotic exoskeleton is a ferocious fighting machine to many who were introduced to the concept in the 1986 sci-fi action film Aliens, in which the protagonist uses a giant apparatus to battle the titular antagonists.

But Mike Hilton hopes to soften the image of such devices with advances in robotics coming out of a B.C. research and development (R&D) firm.

“We want to see […]

Facing a New Industrial Revolution – Alex Cook

Facing a New Industrial Revolution – Alex Cook

Right now, we might be in the midst of the biggest industrial revolution in human history. New research from Oxford University suggests that more than half of the jobs we’re doing now could be done by robots or computers within the next 20 years. Respected Chinese technologist Kai Fu Lee believes this could even happen within the next decade.

Meanwhile, most jobs which require a desk and a computer can now be outsourced to cheaper workers overseas. Christian employees reading about these developments fear a job market which may soon have no room for them. And Christian business owners will […]

Workforce Gap Grows as Boomers Retire

Workforce Gap Grows as Boomers Retire

Manufacturers are having difficulty finding skilled workers. Many are trying creative approaches to close the gap.

The manufacturing industry is experiencing growing pressure as it becomes more difficult to find available talent to run operations. A perfect storm of issues has formed, making it increasingly difficult to find skilled labor. One of the biggest challenges is the retirement of the Baby Boom generation. Many of the industry’s highest skilled workers are now beginning to leave. The number of Boomers retiring will increase precipitously over the next five years. Building the right team of skilled workers is a puzzle that is […]

MEI: Signs of optimistic hiring outlook in 2018

MEI: Signs of optimistic hiring outlook in 2018

By SIOW NAN YEE / Graphic By TMR

ONLINE hiring activity in Malaysia showed a 2% yearon- year (YoY) growth, according to data collected from the Monster Employment Index (MEI) by Monster.com in December 2017.

The global employment website said hiring activities in Malaysia grew during the second half of the year and this optimistic sentiment is expected to continue in 2018.The overall MEI Malaysia results showed that the information technology (IT), telecommunication and IT-related operations, and oil and gas (O&G) industry led the online recruitment activity among other sectors.Meanwhile, the retail sector and customer service roles had registered the […]

Automating jobs is how society makes progress

Automating jobs is how society makes progress

Analysts discuss the automation of jobs as if robots are rising from the sea like Godzilla, rampaging through the Tokyo of stable employment, and leaving only chaos in their wake.

According to data from PWC , 38% of jobs in the U.S. could become automated by the early 2030s. Meanwhile, a report from Ball State University’s Center for Business and Economic Research warned that half of all American jobs could be replaced by automation.

These prophecies of doom fail to recognize that automation and increased productivity are nothing new. From the cotton gin to the computer, automation has been happening for […]

Five skills everybody will need for the jobs of the future

Five skills everybody will need for the jobs of the future

Work—the very meaning of the word—is undergoing metamorphosis. In a few years’ time, traditional office employees all over will find themselves suddenly working for themselves , working freelance , or perhaps out of work entirely and seeking a new path forward. What’s a person to do? To answer that, the Institute for the Future, a California-based think tank, paired up with the talent-management software company Cornerstone OnDemand to identify certain core traits and attitudes that workers will need in order to prepare for the next wave of “work,” whatever it means and however it comes. Five skills recommended in […]

‘Rise of the machines’ drives push for ‘universal basic income’

'Rise of the machines' drives push for 'universal basic income'

(Photo: Pixabay) A revolution is coming to America and the world, and it’s threatening workers’ livelihoods, warn big tech moguls and politicians.

It’s an automation apocalypse of sorts, some say, and the trend could plunge many of today’s workers into poverty and even homelessness in the near future.

Humans in a wide range of industries could be rendered useless or inadequate in their fields. Telemarketers, bookkeepers, receptionists, delivery workers, customer support specialists, retail salespeople, cashiers, tax preparers, sports referees, machine operators, truckers, taxi drivers, fast-food cooks and warehouse and factory workers are at exceptional risk of being replaced.Welcome to the Artificial […]

Will Robots Take My Job?

Will Robots Take My Job?

BU economist finds job loss to machines, but sees long-term hope

Are we bumping up against the “ Robocalypse ,” where automation sweeps industry and replaces human workers with machines? BU economist Pascual Restrepo says that interpretation is too gloomy, although his recent research , posted online by the National Bureau of Economic Research , reveals that the adoption of just one industrial robot eliminates nearly six jobs in a community.

The study, examining job losses between 1990 and 2007, modified earlier research by Restrepo, a College of Arts & Sciences assistant professor of economics, and coauthor Daron Acemoglu of […]