Tag: Automation

Robots at Work

The Financial Times reported on a study “Robots at Work,” written by Georg Graetz, a researcher at the Department of Economics, Uppsala University, and Guy Michaels, London School of Economics, which examines the impact of industrial robots on jobs, productivity and growth. Industrial robots are programmable and are widely used for assembly, packaging, inspection and agricultural harvesting. In …

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Boeing seek at least 20% improvements, not 1-4%

Dennis Muilenberg is CEO of Boeing, the US’s leading aerospace and defence company, and the US’s biggest exporter – they employ 140,000 people in some 65 countries An article by J P Donlon says Muilenberg is ‘on a tear to find another gear to compete in an increasingly complex, global and interconnected world’ Why? Opportunity: Worldwide …

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The bullsh**t job phenomenon

According to The Times, in 2013 David Graeber, a professor of anthropology at the LSE, created quite a stir when he wrote an article about people in meaningless jobs with meaningless titles in meaningless industries – since followed up by his book Bullshit Jobs: A Theory It prompted a YouGov poll which established that 37% of …

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CBI calls for more companies to use digital technology

According to the CBI – Confederation of British Industry – the UK needs ‘more companies skilled to find and adopt available technologies and management best practices known to improve productivity and pay’ In particular, the use of cloud computing, mobile technology, e-purchasing, cybersecurity and on-line procurement could result in a £100 billion boost to the …

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AI to spark a new productivity boom?

A new productivity boom could be sparked by AI – Artificial Intelligence? Who says so? No less than two UK government ministers Culture Secretary Karen Bradley says: “AI has the potential to improve our everyday lives” – precisely what productivity improvement is all about And Business Secretary Greg Clark claims: “Huge social and economic benefits AI …

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Trade Unions vote for Brexit

Some Trade Unions are beginning to realise the benefit of being free of the constraints placed upon the UK by the EU For example, the recent takeover of Opel/ Vauxhall by the French company PSA once would have been judged ‘a disaster’ because of expected closures and job losses: Now, the local Labour MP, Kelvin …

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Economic impacts of automation

Doomsayers forecast that robots will fully automate and so steal all our jobs – others say ‘bring them on, and the sooner the better’ A gloomy report for the World Economic Forum estimates that technology will create about two million jobs worldwide by 2020 – but displace seven million This would be worrying enough for …

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