Tag: Technology

« All Episodes: Gigaom AI Minute – May 4

« All Episodes: Gigaom AI Minute – May 4

We recently surveyed Gigaom’s audience about their views on artificial intelligence. Our audience it primarily made up of business people that have an interest in technology and I would like to use the next several AI minutes to explore the answers.

The fourth question, I think, is very interesting. The first part of it was, we asked, "How likely is it that you and your job will be replaced by automation, before your career is over, before you retire?"

The number of people who said, "Before I retire my job’s going to be destroyed," was 12%. Then we said, think of […]

Will You Lose Your Job in a Few Years After Disruptive Technology Takes Hold?

Will You Lose Your Job in a Few Years After Disruptive Technology Takes Hold?

Many have predicted that millions of jobs are in line to become extinct over the next two decades due to automation, but it may not spell the end of overall employment.(Antara Photo/R. Rekotomo) Manila. Many have predicted that millions of jobs are in line to become extinct over the next two decades due to automation, but it may not spell the end of overall employment.

A study by McKinsey Global Institute released in 2017 found that up to 800 million global workers, or one-fifth of the global workforce, will lose their jobs to automation, which is expected to come into […]

Building Your Future: The future of consultants

Building Your Future: The future of consultants

Artificial intelligence is set to play a major part in construction. Where does that leave the humans who work in the sector? Is your job safe from computer automation? It’s a question construction consultants will increasingly have to start asking themselves. And if you think you’re immune, you might need to think again.

We may be used to the idea of robot automation on manufacturing production lines, but white-collar professionals are now feeling the heat from new digital technologies, particularly artificial intelligence (AI), given the exponential growth in computing power and algorithm-based computer systems. There is talk of automated nurses, […]

« All Episodes: Gigaom AI Minute – May 3

« All Episodes: Gigaom AI Minute – May 3

We recently surveyed Gigaom’s audience about their views on artificial intelligence. Our audience is primarily made up of business people that have an interest in technology and I would like to use the next several AI minutes to explore the answers.

The third question was about the effect of artificial intelligence on employment, "do you think that automation is going to cause massive unemployment?"

Well, only 5% of our audience thinks that. Then what about "somewhat disruptive," that’s 60% that’s the majority of the responses. The people who say, "It’s not going to have any impact on employment," is 15% and […]

The epic mistake about manufacturing that’s cost Americans millions of jobs

The epic mistake about manufacturing that’s cost Americans millions of jobs

Looking back, there were two kinds of people who lived in America in 2016: people who believed Donald Trump, and people who believed data.

Trump claimed on the campaign trail that globalization had destroyed US manufacturing —and in the process, the American economy—by letting China and other countries steal American factory jobs. From the turnout at Trump’s rallies and the “Make America Great Again” stickers slapped on bumpers across America, it was clear the message was resonating.

The data camp didn’t get it. Yes, the US had hemorrhaged manufacturing jobs, losing close to 5 million of them since 2000. Trade may […]

Figures of the week: The future of work in Africa

Figures of the week: The future of work in Africa

Automation, artificial intelligence, and other technological advances associated with the Fourth Industrial Revolution are changing the nature of work globally. A new report, The Future of Work: Regional Perspectives [1] , assesses what rapid technological progress could mean for developing and emerging economies. In the chapter focusing on Africa, the report finds that new technologies could enable much-needed productivity growth and stimulate new types of economic activities; for example, retail and financial services given the high penetration of mobile devices in the region. However, a technologically driven rise in productivity could also mean that fewer people are needed to […]

Will Robot-Led Restaurants Be a Gift or a Curse to Food Workers?

Will Robot-Led Restaurants Be a Gift or a Curse to Food Workers?

The menu at Spyce , which opens today in downtown Boston, isn’t noticeably different than the menus you’d find at a half-dozen other quick-service lunch places within a three-block radius. It’s filled with grain bowls with brown rice and freekeh, mix-ins including pomegranate, chicken, and kale, and toppings such as avocado, egg, and yogurt.

But what sets Spyce apart from the Dig Inn two doors down or the two Sweetgreens within a stone’s throw is who—or, rather, what —cooks the food. The star culinarian at Spyce is a nine-foot long, 14-foot wide robotic kitchen—so, not really an employee at all.

The […]

Philippine Finance Secretary says disruptive technologies prompt rethinking of development banking

Philippine Finance Secretary says disruptive technologies prompt rethinking of development banking

Philippine Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III stated that disruptive technologies prompt for rethinking of development banking strategies to make economies more inclusive.

According to a recent press release by the Philippine Department of Finance, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III has called for the rethinking of development banking strategies to make economies more inclusive amidst the rise of disruptive digital technologies.

At a Technology for Inclusion Conference held at the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in Manila, Finance Secretary Dominguez noted that advances in healthcare, education, communications and productivity that were principally driven by the digital revolution helped improve the average life expectancy […]

Employment in the age of automation: Preparing labour with future-ready skills is essential

Employment in the age of automation: Preparing labour with future-ready skills is essential

Automation and the growth of technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) are resulting in a better, safer and more efficient world. Investments in automation are pouring in. McKinsey

estimates that tech giants worldwide spent anywhere between $20-30 billion on AI in 2016.

Interestingly, one of the key drivers of these spends is the falling cost of capital. The unit cost of capital has dropped to less than 0.6 times the unit cost of labour. This amounts to a 16x drop from the unit cost of labour in the early 1980s. This imbalance is flooding research in AI and robotics with money. These […]

Industry 4.0 and Automation

Industry 4.0 and Automation

Management Manufacturing is almost synonymous with grim think-pieces on automation. The manufacturing sector is painted as something done in the developing world, soon to be completely replaced by robots, or even something out of a Charles Dickens novel.

But manufacturing jobs will exist well into the present century and beyond. What’s more, the manufacturing jobs of the 21st-century are more engaging and better paid.

Like every other aspect of the UK workplace, manufacturing is evolving. However, this was just as true in 1700 when the first machine looms were rolled out. Then, as now, critics prognosticated an end to gainful employment. […]