Tag: Technology

Robots stealing our jobs? Don’t panic, author says

Robots stealing our jobs? Don't panic, author says

A human tendency to revel in grim, dystopian future-gazing, and give too much credence to self-interested Silicon Valley "futurists", has led to fears that robots and artificial intelligence systems are about to take half of all human jobs.

But Kiwi World Bank economist and author Kinley Salmon gives human workers at least 25 years breathing space before any "labour-light" future threatens.

And he scorns the more extreme job-loss predictions touted by some of the biggest names in New Zealand and world business, seeing no signs of the robot revolution coming through in official unemployment or productivity figures. SUPPLIEDWorld Bank economist and […]

The Amazon/Walmart Whole Paycheck Tracker: Glimpsing The Future Of Automation And One-Day Delivery

The Amazon/Walmart Whole Paycheck Tracker: Glimpsing The Future Of Automation And One-Day Delivery

This week both Amazon and Walmart were offering up pictures — albeit with very different levels of detail built in — of how the immediate retail future will take shape. Amazon laid out what its decade-long march to fully-automated warehouses will likely look like, while Walmart didn’t offer up a specific plan (or a due date) so much as hint that something “groundbreaking” is coming.

Outside of the previews of the future this week, the world also got a glimpse at what the last few laps in the race for the consumers’ whole paycheck are shaping up to be — […]

AI Is Changing The Frontline Worker’s Role — And How You Train Them

AI Is Changing The Frontline Worker's Role -- And How You Train Them

When it comes to artificial intelligence (AI) in the workplace, headlines like, ”Will Robots Take Our Children’s Jobs?” make it easy to get distracted by the fear-factor narrative. It’s not that AI won’t change the employment landscape — according to McKinsey , it will certainly impact the jobs of workers whose roles require them to perform physical activities or operate machinery in a predictable environment. In fact, almost one-fifth of the time spent in U.S. workplaces involves performing such tasks, most commonly in sectors like manufacturing, food service and retail.

So, it’s the frontline workers in these sectors that have […]

Bangladesh to lose garment workers

Bangladesh to lose garment workers

Some 60 per cent of garment workers in Bangladesh are set to lose their jobs by 2030. MUNIR UZ ZAMAN/AFP SOME 60 per cent of garment workers in Bangladesh will lose their jobs by 2030 and will be replaced by robots because of the automation installed by factory owners, a top Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services (Basis) official said on Tuesday.

In the leather sector some 35 per cent will suffer the same, as will 20 per cent in the tourism sector, said Basis president Syed Almas Kabir.

“This is very alarming for Bangladesh. Around 1.4 million workers in […]

Changing consumer expectations – how can manufacturers keep up?

Changing consumer expectations – how can manufacturers keep up?

Universal Robots ANZ country manager, Peter Hern, explains how manufacturers
can stay on top of consumers’ changing demands.

Consumer expectations of service are changing rapidly, placing greater demands on businesses to improve, or risk failure. The ease of access afforded by online shopping sites, and the rising popularity of same day delivery services has led to audiences that expect goods faster, and of a higher quality. Alongside these trends, consumers are becoming more ethically and sustainably-minded, with an increasing preference for businesses that share their values.
To keep up, many businesses are already integrating faster and more agile procedures […]

The skills you need to learn to ensure yourself a job of the future

The skills you need to learn to ensure yourself a job of the future

Nearly 50% of companies expect that automation will lead to some reduction in their full-time workforce by 2022 .

By 2030 experts expect that robots will replace 800 million jobs . So how do we, humans, protect ourselves from becoming completely obsolete?

Rather than focus on the negatives, maybe it is more useful to think about the skills we can build on rather than trying to directly compete with the machines.‘Predicting jobs of the future is fraught with difficulty,’ Dominic Atkinson, founder of startup Stay Nimble, tells Metro.co.uk.‘Our unique human qualities will really define jobs of the future. Our empathy, our […]

May Day and the march of the machines

May Day and the march of the machines

What Press Freedom’s For What should be utopia could become dystopian.

So Bloomberg reports that “almost half of all jobs could be wiped out or radically altered in the next two decades due to automation.”

And these “changes in employment will hit some workers more than others — particularly young people with lower levels of education and women who are more likely to be under-employed and working in low paid jobs” (“Automation Could Wipe Out Almost Half of All Jobs in 20 Years,” 25 April 2019).To the glee of some, the “hit” includes the legal profession. The World Economic Forum (“This […]

The Future of Automation Could Bring More Workplace Inequality, Tensions

The Future of Automation Could Bring More Workplace Inequality, Tensions

Automation, robots and globalization are rapidly changing the workplace and governments must act fast and decisively to counter the effects or face a worsening of social and economic tensions, the OECD warned.

Almost half of all jobs could be wiped out or radically altered in the next two decades due to automation, the Paris-based group said in a report last week. According to OECD Labor Director Stefano Scarpetta, the pace of change will be “startling.”

Safety nets and training systems built up over decades to protect workers are struggling to keep up with the “megatrends” changing the nature of work, the […]

‘Globalisation is moving from products to services and data’

'Globalisation is moving from products to services and data'

Hans-Paul Burkner, Chairman of the Boston Consulting Group (Photograph by Shekhar Ghosh) A lot of countries are closing borders, and there is a mood of anti-globalisation. There are right-wing attacks. How does this effect business?

It is not just right-wing attack but a populist attack from both sides of the extreme. They are seeing loss of control. In developed countries, they fear losing factories, and jobs. Overall, we have gone through a very positive development across the world, which has reduced poverty, increased life expectancy. More children are going to schools than ever before. Fewer people die than ever […]

How automation will change our careers forever

How automation will change our careers forever

GN39072 Graphic highlights 10 countries with jobs at a high risk of automation or significant change. April 30, 2019 — Artificial intelligence, robotics and globalisation are rapidly changing the workplace, opening up new markets and increasing productivity. But young, low-skilled, part-time workers face being left behind.

Modern technological advances are rapidly changing the workplace, and nations must act quickly to prepare for the effects or face increasing social and economic tensions, says the OECD.

In the “Employment Outlook 2019” report, it claims 50 percent of jobs could disappear or be drastically altered in the next 20 years due to automation – […]