Tag: software

Workers of the Future, Unite

Workers of the Future, Unite

A utomation will undoubtedly transform the workforce, the economy, and society as a whole. Robotics, sophisticated “AI” software, and other technologies will cause lasting and profound changes in the future. But that’s no reason to ignore the problems we’re facing right now.

In fact, the best way to ensure that we have a more equitable economy tomorrow is by fighting for one today. “Reality Check”

Two recent commentaries addressed the “robot question.” One, by Don Lee, ran in the Los Angeles Times under the headline “ Reality check: Manufacturers returning to U.S. may mean jobs for robots, not people […]

Workers of the Future, Unite

Workers of the Future, Unite

Issei Kato / Reuters Automation will undoubtedly transform the workforce, the economy, and society as a whole. Robotics, sophisticated “AI” software, and other technologies will cause lasting and profound changes in the future. But that’s no reason to ignore the problems we’re facing right now.

In fact, the best way to ensure that we have a more equitable economy tomorrow is by fighting for one today.

“Reality check” Two recent commentaries addressed the “robot question.” One, by Don Lee, ran in the Los Angeles Times under the headline “ Reality check: Manufacturers returning to US may mean jobs for robots, […]

[Industry 4.0] How will Industry 4.0 impact jobs?

[Industry 4.0] How will Industry 4.0 impact jobs?

It took a weeklong match in March this year between 18-time world Go champion Lee Se-dol and Alphago for it to hit South Koreans hard: Human beings could actually be replaced by artificial intelligence.

Alphago, the AI Go program developed by Google DeepMind, won four out of five games. The initial anticipation of Lee’s sweeping victory soon turned into self-assuring consolation that he at least managed one win.

“After the match, I was actually fearful of my own arrogant assumption that a man-made AI would never outperform a human,” said Kim Sung-jin, a 33-year-old researcher in material engineering. “When an AI […]

What politicians aren’t saying about declining manufacturing jobs

What politicians aren't saying about declining manufacturing jobs

With manufacturing employment steadily dropping and the trucking field predicted to be next, what is the state of automation today? (Deseret Photo) Jobs are a major platform plank for both political parties this election, but neither side has addressed how automation has and will eliminate working-class jobs, observers have noted.

“Job losses due to automation and robotics are often overlooked in discussions about the unexpected rise of outside political candidates like (Donald) Trump and Bernie Sanders,” Moshe Vardi, an artificial-intelligence expert at Rice University, noted in a press release before the parties’ conventions.

Manufacturing in the U.S. has already been hit […]

What politicians aren’t saying about declining manufacturing jobs

What politicians aren't saying about declining manufacturing jobs

David and Barbara Ludwig pose for a portrait at their home Wednesday, May 28, 2014, in Reading, Pa. The Ludwigs lost their manufacturing jobs and have been struggling financially ever since. For decades, American manufacturing provided entrée to the middle class, especially for workers without college degrees. No more. Globalization, automation and recession destroyed nearly 6 million manufacturing jobs between 2000-2009, casting many displaced workers out of the middle class and, consequently, widening the income gap between rich and poor. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

With manufacturing employment steadily dropping and the trucking field predicted to be next, what is the state […]

Audi, Daimler, Volvo re-think automation

Audi, Daimler, Volvo re-think automation

A worker at Audi’s plant in Neckarsulm, Germany, organizes parts used on the A8. Audi says that today’s robots cannot deal with the complexity facing their human colleagues, who assemble six model lines and 21 vehicle derivatives at the factory using roughly 56,000 parts from 1,200 suppliers. From the moment they were created, the pair known as "Heidi" and "Erin" were destined to be with each other their whole lives — or at least as long as their Audi A7 wasn’t involved in a crash. In Neckarsulm, Audi’s most flexible plant, driver-side airbags are named after girls, while the […]

Making disruption work for humans

Making disruption work for humans

Split, shatter, break apart. That is the original Latin meaning of the word disruption. Even today, the word provokes fear.

When my colleagues and I conceptualised this series, Fast Forward: Disruption and the Singapore Economy, of which you are now reading the final instalment, we considered technology-driven job loss to be a big threat. Just before this series was launched, Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan spoke of a time, perhaps just 15 years away, when private cars would go the way of horse carriages as driverless vehicles become the norm; and with that change, the prospect that thousands of transport […]

Millions of ASEAN jobs vulnerable to automation, says International Labour Organization

HR and accounting among the sectors at risk as business process outsourcing gets overtaken by technology

Disruptive technology will put millions of jobs at risk of automation over the next 20 years, a new report from the International Labour Organization predicts.

ASEAN in transformation: How technology is changing jobs and enterprises , suggests that business process outsourcing (BPO), which currently provides employment around one million people in the Philippines alone, is one of five industries set to see big changes because of automation. Electronics, automotive and auto parts, textiles and retail face similar disruption.BPO involves contracting out specific business […]

1.8 million American truck drivers could lose their jobs to robots. What then?

1.8 million American truck drivers could lose their jobs to robots. What then?

(Otto) So far, discussion of self-driving cars has mostly confined itself to tech geeks and urbanists. But if they live up to their promise, autonomous vehicles could have seismic effects on America’s economy and culture. It’s probably time for a wider circle of participants, including economists, politicians, and social scientists, to start grappling seriously with what’s coming.

Let’s take just one example: long-haul trucking. Millions of Americans drive trucks for a living

Freight trucks (semis, 18-wheelers, tractor trailers, what have you) are so ubiquitous on US highways that we scarcely give them any thought. But they are a big piece […]

Whatever Happened to Jobs? Automation, immigration, and joblessness

Keywords: jobs, immigration, automation, unemployment

President Obama, the Senate, and House Democrats wish to “fix” our “broken immigration system” by doubling legal immigration. Not content with that, and casting aside the rule of law, they wish to reward 11 to 20 million illegal aliens with legal status and, moreover, provide these miscreants with a “pathway to citizenship”—our most precious possession. A good idea?

Between 1916 and 1965—fifty years—immigration averaged just 218,000 per year. Since then the annual take has risen gradually to over a million per year, a growth unabated during the Great Recession and indolent recovery. Some blame our sluggish […]