Artificial Intelligence ⯀  

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation recently explored how artificial intelligence will change the nature of work as new research shows how much of what you do could be done by automation and robotics. From truck drivers to lawyers and doctors, most agree that no one will be unaffected.

The Australian Broadcast Corporation recently aired  an eye-opening examination of the possible effects of artificial intelligence on jobs and the economy.

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The documentary team focused on truck drivers, legal workers, hospitality workers and medical workers, along with significant AI developments like the development of IBM's Watson, and DeepMind's stunning victory in Go last year.  By examining the issues with both experts, workers and students that are going to be impacted, the documentary presents a very in-depth look at the potential of AI and automation on work in the future.

Peter Norvig, who heads many of Google's AI projects instructed his kids about how to prepare for the future of work with artificial intelligence:

"I tell them … wherever they will be working in 20 years probably doesn't exist now," Peter Norvig says. "No sense training for it today."

Economist Andrew Charlton, "For the first time, we broke the Australian economy down into 20 billion hours of work, and we asked what does every Australian do with their day and how or what about their job will change over the next 15 years."

The economist's work can be tested at a site set up by ABC. There you can test if your job is under threat from automation or not.

Could a robot do your job? Check out ABC's site to find out.

"It's not so much about what jobs will we do, but how will we do our jobs, because automation isn't going to affect some workers, it's going to affect every worker."

"I think the biggest misconception is that everyone talks about automation as destroying jobs, the reality is that automation changes every job. It's not so much about what jobs will we do, but how will we do our jobs, because automation isn't going to affect some workers, it's going to affect every worker," Charlton states in the video below from ABC's Lateline.

“It’s not so much about what jobs will we do, but how will we do our jobs,” he explains. “Everyone will do their job differently, working with machines over the next 20 years.

"A retail worker will spend nine hours less on physical and routine tasks like stocking shelves and processing goods at the checkout, and nine hours more on tasks like helping customers to find what they want and providing them with advice,” Charlton suggests.

Source - ABC

According to Charlton, "Most of the opportunities are to do things that machines can't do, things that humans do well in the caring economy — to be empathetic, to work in a range of occupations which require interpersonal skills."

"The one thing we do know is the jobs that will be created will require different skills than the jobs that will be destroyed. And it will require us to constantly be educating ourselves to keep ahead of the machines."

SOURCE  ABC

By  33rd Square	Embed

Futurology  

Let’s be honest; we all feel as though we’re living in a dystopian a lot of the time. The predictions of Margaret Atwood’s MaddAddam trilogy came true as soon as cloning was on the cards. And, Orwell’s 1984 was an accurate depiction of where politics is taking us. Yet, against the odds, we keep hope. Why? Because we have the power to speak out.

One thing most dystopias have in common is that the people have been silenced. Communication is removed, and people operate on a solo basis. So, we feel safe because we’re connected. We have a platform, and most of us use it. From Youtube to Twitter, we shout loud and proud about the state of the world and feel safer for it.

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e But, it’s possible that communication is another danger we should look out for. As we can communicate with each other, computers can communicate among themselves. They may not have reached AI level yet - they do need our input at some stage. But, with scientists developing an artificial synapse capable of autonomous learning, it won’t be long before we’re taken out the equation. 61850 source code may be helpful for developing communications systems for us, but will there come a time when it can operate alone? Some people laugh and brush away such a suggestion, but it seems probable when you look at the facts.

Why is it so frightening to think technology could communicate without us? In some ways, humans are afraid of their creations. There have been enough films and books written about machines taking over. Most of those were written well before the possibility even arose. Instead of seeing these as predictions, we could argue that they founded the basis for our research. Scientists watched those films and read those books and decided to explore. But, none of us can deny that the outcomes are rarely good. Another reason to fear the possibility is that it would make us obsolete. Many people have lost jobs to machines over the years. With the BBC reporting that 30% of jobs could be lost in the next decade, it’s understandable that we’re worried.

Despite our fears, though, we continue to invest in new experiments and developments. Why? There’s no denying that medical advances have been amazing. They’ve saved more lives than you could count. But, medical experimentation can also be problematic. With the development of artificial wombs, we’re even taking ourselves out of the reproductive process. In a lot of ways, it seems that we continue to experiment because we want to see how far we can go. What can the human mind create?

But, have the people who lead experiments lost sight of what the public want? If asked, the majority of the population would say that science has gone far enough. It seems there is such a thing as too much of a good thing. Is it possible that the communication which is saving us could become a problem later down the line?

By  33rd Square	Embed

Self Driving Cars  

Self driving cars promise a future with fewer accidents, fewer traffic violations, and more time for people to do what they want. On the other hand, self-driving cars will make many of our tasks and jobs obsolete. Here are a few examples.

New technology is always replacing old technology. This is a good thing, for the most part. Both experts and the general public are looking forward to self-driving cars replacing cars driven by humans. There should be fewer accidents, fewer traffic violations, and more time for people to do what they want. However, it is important to note that self-driving cars will make many things obsolete. This will be positive overall, but will inevitably have some negative impact.

Will Traffic Officers Be Obsolete?

 

The vast majority of traffic violations are caused by human decisions. For example, a person may choose to go over the speed limit, which can result in them getting pulled over. A self-driving car, however, will not have this problem. It can easily be programmed to follow speed limits precisely. While this will certainly make driving safer, it will also put a lot of traffic officers out of work due to the reduced number of traffic violations. There are around 900,000 police officers in the United States, and many of them will lose their jobs. As with many of the dynamics sure to be caused by self-driving cars, it will make the world a better place, but not without casualties.

Valets and Parking Lot Attendants May Lose Their Jobs

 

Self-driving cars will also be able to self-park. In fact, some cars on the market today can already self-park. These cars will eventually put valets and parking lot attendants out of a job. While this demographic may sound inconsequential, there are over 140,000 people in this line of work throughout the country. These people are out of luck, but those with self-parking cars can save time and money.

Possibly the Hardest-hit Segment: Delivery Drivers

 

 

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While thousands of people work as valets and parking lot attendants, over 1.3 million work as delivery drivers in some capacity. Postal workers, those working for private package delivery services, pizza delivery workers, and many more will likely lose their jobs. These companies will not have to pay their workers, so they should be able to lower prices. Also, those receiving the deliveries will not be obligated to tip a self-driving car as they would a human. This will save them up to 15 or 20 percent of the cost of the delivery. There will still likely be a few delivery drivers for specialized packages, but this occupation will largely become a thing of the past.

Self-Driving Cars May Finish off the Railway Industry

 

The railroads were instrumental in the development of America. They provided fast, safe travel in a time before cars. Once cars became commonplace, railway travel started to decline. After being in declines for decades, it is has experienced a slight resurgence as of late with the advent of high-speed rail. These trains are very safe and can go nearly 200 miles an hour. However, they are still confined to railways, which self-driving cars are not. Also, with automotive travel being made much safer, speed limits may be raised as self-driving cars can drive almost flawlessly at any speed. This will further reduce any advantage trains may have over cars.

The timing is bad for the railway industry as well. The federal government has spent $11 billion dollars on high-tech trains and rails. Self-driving cars may mean all of their efforts are for nothing.

Car Insurance

 

The auto insurance industry is massive, with gross revenues of over $50 billion dollars a year for the biggest companies. However, the number of accidents would be greatly reduced with self-driving cars. This would, in turn, lower insurance premiums massively. It's not out of the question that state governments could stop requiring insurance altogether. While many people would still have limited policies, the bottom lines of car insurance companies would suffer greatly.

Mobile Provider Internet

Many people lucky enough to have self-driving cars would want to browse the Internet while waiting to get to their destination. It stands to reason that self-driving cars would have their own mobile dedicated Internet. This may come in the form of satellite Internet, Internet provided by cell phone companies like Sprint and Verizon, or some other form of wi-fi not yet commonplace.

57% of people browse the Internet on their phones. If people can use faster and cheaper Internet on their mobile devices than the Internet provided by their phone company, this could make the service obsolete. While Internet usage takes up a great deal of bandwidth, phone companies are able to make money from it. Self-driving cars may end up hurting their bottom lines, as well.

SOURCE  - Top Image via Vimeo

By Lindsey Patterson

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Computers  

Learning about computers can be intimidating for some people. Nowadays, being computer literate is a must for your career, your social life and your business.

Today, computers and the internet are two of the most important things in regards to business, the job market and human civilization overall. Without them, no industry would function as it currently does. Still, some people have been left behind by this influx of innovation and may feel stranded from everyone else who does understand computers. Below are a few ways you can teach yourself to be computer literate.

Ask for Help When You Need It

If you have friends or family members that are far more computer literate than you are, don’t be afraid to ask them for help when you get stuck using your computer or smart phone. If you need find out how to hook up your internet, for example, have another person show you how to perform each step and then try to replicate the process on your own. Watching someone else do something is one of the best ways to learn after all.

Take a Course

Taking an actual college course on computer basics is an excellent choice. Computer Science 101, for example, will teach you pretty much everything you need to know including how to create your own website. Many community colleges also have courses designed specifically for adults who want to better master computers to improve their career prospects. Investigate your options.

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IT Infrastructure Needs

Perhaps you run a small business or want to be a business owner. If that is the case, computer networks will likely be very important to your business operations. Learning how to meet your IT infrastructure needs is something you must do if you want to be a successful company. You will, for example, need to learn about the hardware components of IT infrastructure like servers, data centers, hubs, routers, switches, and more and how they work together. Some companies, like Bedrock IT offer Ottawa It services for those that need protection from malware and spam ware. Most people know that this may seem a bit more complicated than learning how to use a PC. It is, but it is doable if your mind is open to learning.

Business Software

Learning about how to use computers for your company will also require understanding software beyond simple Microsoft Word and Excel. You should also learn about different kinds of business software like customer relationship management (CRM) software and enterprise resource planning (ERP) software. Your competitors are likely taking full advantage of these kinds of applications to transform their customer data, sales information and more into a competitive advantage.

Learning about computers may seem intimidating. However, most people do have the ability to become very computer literate. Being computer literate can help you with your career, your social life and your business.

By Rachelle Wilber

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Technological Obsolescence  

Economic forecasts increasingly point to high unemployment in much of the developed being persistent for longer and longer duration. Martin Ford suggests that as machine learning continues to expand in power today's unemployment numbers are only a hint of what's to come.

Martin Ford, the author of some of the best work in the last few years on technological unemployment spoke recently at the Industry of Things World Conference. (See video below).

"This is a topic that sits on the intersection of economics and technology," states Ford. "Economists never really want to hear that 'This time is different,' they are always very skeptical of that. Yet in the realm of technology, this time is always different—that's the role of innovation."

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The issue is more about technology for Ford. "There is no rule of the Universe, or of economics that says people will always have to be part of loop." He sees a world of the future where machines increasingly are able to take over parts of the economy, leaving fewer and fewer opportunities for people.

Ford points out that despite the economy in the US growing by over 40 percent in the years since 1998, and with the population of the country growing by over 40 million people, the actual number of labor hours calculated in the economy as a whole was unchanged.

Job Creation By Decade

There is no area of the economy that won't be touched by machine intelligence Ford states. "In advanced economies, especially the most disruptive thing that is going to happen is when all of this artificial intelligence and robotics gets leveraged into the service sector because that is where nearly everyone works now."

Despite the drawbacks to labor in general in terms of real earnings and job growth, the cycle seems destined to continue and accelerate, as businesses will have no choice but to adopt automation and machine intelligence, or they will not be able to compete.

"Economists never really want to hear that 'This time is different,' they are always very skeptical of that. Yet in the realm of technology, this time is always different—that's the role of innovation."

As improvements in computers, robotic technologies, and other forms of job automation continue to accelerate, more workers are certain to be displaced, and job creation will become even more challenging states Ford.

Increasingly economists and politician are accepting Ford's and other thinkers like his ideas. The criticism that robots are coming for our jobs as speculation is increasingly falling away as the evidence of technological unemployment builds with each exponential improvement in machine learning.

Coupled with years of stagnating or declining wages for average workers, growing income inequality, increasing productivity, and consumption supported by debt rather than income – there is less and less doubt that these ideas are actually reflecting the notion that 'this time is different.

What we need to think about more than ever is how we will respond.

Ford, author of Rise of the Robots: Technology and the Threat of a Jobless Future and The Lights in the Tunnel: Automation, Accelerating Technology and the Economy of the Future is the founder of a Silicon Valley-based software development firm. He has over 25 years experience in the fields of computer design and software development. He holds a degree in computer engineering from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor and a graduate degree in business from the Anderson Graduate School of Management at the University of California, Los Angeles.

SOURCE  Industry of Things World

By 33rd Square

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 Technological Obsolescence  

Jobocalypse is a look at the rapidly changing face of robotics and how it will revolutionize employment and jobs over the next thirty years. Ben Way lays out the arguments in favor of and against the mechanization of our society, as well as the amazing advantages and untold risks, as we march into this ever-present future.

I n Ben Way's Jobocalypse: The End of Human Jobs and How Robots will Replace Them, the author looks at the rapidly changing face of robotics and how it will revolutionize employment and jobs over the next thirty years.

Way lays out the arguments in favor of and against the mechanization of our society, as well as the amazing advantages and untold risks, as we march into this ever-present future.

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Each entertaining chapter covers the past, present and future of robotic technology, from sex bots to military killing drones, in an easy to understand way.

Way is a leading futurologist, technologist, inventor, and entrepreneur. With over twenty years of experience in technology and innovation, he has traveled the world seeking out and developing new technologies. As a leading voice on the challenges and benefits of tomorrow’s technology, he has advised some of the world’s leading institutions, including the White House, regarding technological preparations for the future. He is the recipient of the millennium entrepreneur of the year award and has appeared on numerous technology and philanthropy television programs, as well as presenting Bright Young Wonders on Robotics

"A fascinating look into the future of robotics and their impact on humanity, be prepared to question when robots will replace you" - Kevin Warwick, Professor of Cybernetics at the University of Reading

"The future of work is changing thanks to a variety of things like 3D printing, open source software, and robots. Ben Way has a front-row seat on these huge changes and what they mean for both rich and poor workers. Yes, the robots may take our jobs, but who will build the robots? This book will tell you." - Robert Scoble, Technology Evangelist

Chapter 1: The future, backed up
Chapter 2: Odd jobs
Chapter 3: Adult industry and how to eject safely
Chapter 4: Logistics with hard drives
Chapter 5: Police, military and the rise of the machines
Chapter 6: Agriculture, mining and when bots get dirty
Chapter 7: Education and the baby bots
Chapter 8: Retail, drink and food with boozy bots
Chapter 9: Manufacturing and when robots build themselves
Chapter 10: Being probed, digital doctors and numeric nurses
Chapter 11: Entertainment and the funny bots
Chapter 12: Slavery 2.0 and when bots go wrong
Chapter 13: Robot humans and bionics
Chapter 14: Humans and the crumbs left for us

By 33rd Square

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 Race Against The Machine  

Staff.com has created a new infographic showing more jobs that will soon be lost to technology.  In the race against the machine, they predict that travel agents, taxi drivers and more will soon be obsolete careers.

According to Staff.com, The 20th century saw a massive loss of jobs in factories as machines replaced humans. The US economy moved to “services” and everyone was happy! Of course service jobs are not going to be replaced by machines are they?

Think again.

Now, with the advent of automation and artificial intelligence, more jobs will become obsolete.

Interested to see what will be the best jobs for the future? Not the ones on this infographic!

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SOURCE  Staff.com

By 33rd Square

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 3D Printing

According to authors John Manners-Bell and Ken Lyon 3D Printing, or additive manufacturing, has the potential to become the biggest single disruptive phenomenon to impact global industry since assembly lines were introduced in early twentieth century America.

A new report by by John Manners-Bell of Transport Intelligence and Ken Lyon of Virtual-Partners Ltd., points to the growing role 3D printing is having on the global economy and outlines the potential for the technology to disrupt the logistics industry in particular.

Other commentators also point out that the 3D printing industry is approaching critical mass.  The "service economy" and much of the current economic paradigm will be swept away with emerging technologies like 3D printing developing.

Entire supply chains and even the concept of "logistics" may be radically changed or even effectively ended when all someone has to do is hit a "print" button and an object is produced before their very eyes.  Moreover, the speed at which these technologies are being developed and implemented is increasing exponentially.

The report examines how 3D printing or, 'additive manufacturing' will revolutionize production techniques, which will threaten the global transportation and logistics industry, potentially reversing the march of globalization that has been the norm for the past few decades. This report is enlightening because it focuses on how 3D printing will impact the massive industry that is built around manufacturing –the moving of raw materials, parts and finished products around the world.

The authors report that the implications of this new manufacturing technology for the logistics industry could be massive:

• Potentially a proportion of goods which were previously produced in China or other Asia markets could be ‘near-sourced’ to North America and Europe. This would reduce shipping and air cargo volumes. 

• The ‘mass customisation’ of products would mean that inventory levels fall, as goods are made to order. This would have the effect of reducing warehousing requirements. 

• There would be fewer opportunities for logistics suppliers to be involved in companies’ upstream supply chains, as manufacturing processes are increasingly re-bundled within a single facility. Tiers of component suppliers are done away with, as is the need for supplier villages, line side supply etc. 

• Downstream logistics would also be affected. Build-to-order production strategies could fundamentally impact the manufacturer-wholesaler-retailer relationship. In the future the shopping experience could also be vastly different. In some sectors, retailers will either cease to exist or become ‘shop windows’ for manufacturers, keeping no stock of their own. Orders are fulfilled directly by the manufacturer, and delivered to the home of the consumer. 

• A major new sector of the logistics industry would emerge dealing with the storage and movement of the raw materials which ‘feed’ the 3D Printers. As 3D Printers become more affordable to the general public, the home delivery market of these materials would increase. 

• The Service Parts Logistics sector would be one of the first to be affected. At present billions are spent on holding stock to supply products as diverse as cars to x-ray machines. In some cases huge amount of redundancy is built into supply chains to enable parts to be dispatched in a very short timescale to get machines up and running again as fast as possible. It doesn’t take much imagination to understand the benefits for a service parts engineer of being able to download a part design from an online library, 3D Print it and then fit it within a very short time window. This would make global and national parts warehouses as well as forward stock locations unnecessary to fulfilling customer needs.

Manners-Bell and Lyon write that it is difficult to see that industry will undergo complete transformation for many years – probably decades – to come. What could happen, though, is that that some sectors are penetrated by the technology at a much earlier stage, such as the manufacture of spare parts.

In this case, the most enlightened logistics companies could even become early adopters of the technologies – investing in the 3D Printers and providing facilities for designers and engineers – rather than kicking against the progress. This would also provide a way of leveraging their capital and their own technological capabilities.

The authors cite that in 2012 already up to 30% of finished products already involve 3D printing in some manner; by 2016 this is to rise to 50%, and by 2020 perhaps up to 80%.  Essentially, 3D printing is moving from a prototyping and visualization tool more and more to the actual production of finished parts and products.
Larger logistics companies, write Manners-Bell and Lyon that delay or ignore the implications of the 3D printing trend are vulnerable to new kinds of organisations or associations that will match or potentially leap ahead of their own capabilities.



SOURCE  Report: The implications of 3d printing for the global logistics industry (open access PDF)

By 33rd Square

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 Robots

A restaurant in China now staffs 18 robots, including waiters and cooks.  The traditional hotpot eatery demonstrates that now nobody's job is safe.

Arestaurant in Harbin, China staffs robots; one to welcome customers as they arrive, others to cook the food, and more to deliver plates to tables.

The traditional hotpot eatery is staffed by more than a dozen automated servers, the distant and brightly colored relations of Star Wars’ golden droid C-3PO. The robots whir around the room on little bicycles carrying meat and veggies to be dipped by restaurant-goers into bubbling broth. Customers need not shout, weep or make obscene gestures to get their waiter’s attention. Every bot is equipped with motion sensors; all you have to do is get in one’s way and nab a plate of food.

The owner,Zhang Yongpei,says the robots, which cost between 200,000~300,000 yuan ($32,000~$48,000 USD), can display 10 different emotions and speak simple phrases.

The robot stops automatically if a customer gets in its way thanks to ultrasonic range sensors, and will sound an alarm if it needs to be repaired. The robots also know to return to its power source when it gets low on power (its batteries have a life of around 5 hours).

Even in China, with its famous, seemingly inexhaustible cheap labour, technological obsolescence seems to be taking hold.

SOURCE  Plastic Pals

By 33rd Square

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