A fully autonomous ship will attempt a ground-breaking journey across the Atlantic ocean without a crew later this month. The Mayflower 400 will travel 3,500 miles (5,630km) from Plymouth in the UK to Massachusetts in the US, conducting scientific experiments during its journey. Source: BBC Technology News Date: May 19th, 2021 Link to 3 minute… Read more »
Posts Categorized: Automation
Amazon’s Panorama box lets firms check if staff follow coronavirus rules
Amazon plans to sell companies a way to detect when staff are not wearing face masks or socially distancing. Beyond the pandemic, the system could also be used to track compliance of other workplace rules or to monitor the public – for example, to check the number of customers queuing in a store. It involves… Read more »
Companies with robot workers tend to have more human workers, too, Statscan says
Statistics Canada says domestic firms that invested in robots since the late 1990s have also expanded their human workforces, suggesting a less than “apocalyptic” result for workers overall. The findings released today show that over two decades, firms that invested in automation had workforces 15 per cent larger relative to other companies in the same… Read more »
Why ‘outskilling’ isn’t yet a workplace revolution
Programmes preparing workers facing layoffs for their next career are on the rise. But experts are cautious to call ‘outskilling’ the perfect solution to the automation takeover. Source: BBC Beyond the 9-to-5 Date: February 14th, 2020 Link: https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20200212-the-real-ways-your-career-can-survive-automation Discussion ” As the global march toward automation continues, particularly threatening jobs in factories, retail, food service… Read more »
What the world can learn from Japan’s robots
Japan is rolling out robots in nursing homes, offices and schools as its population ages and workforce shrinks. What can it teach other countries facing the same problems? Source: BBC Future Date: February 6th, 2020 Link: https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20200205-what-the-world-can-learn-from-japans-robots Discussion ” One resident, a woman with dementia, holds a Telenoid as 27-year-old staff member Minami Okabe, down… Read more »
The Imminent Evolution of ‘Augmentation’ in Accounting and Finance
Late last month, I was the keynote speaker at the Tax Executive Institute in San Mateo, CA. This was a gathering of global tax leaders from accounting firms and public companies coming together to discuss the impact of technology in tax and accounting professions. I asked several folks a simple question — how much of your time… Read more »
Facebook promised to fix political ads on its platform. It hasn’t
Facebook and its CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, pledged to fix how it handles political and issue ads in the wake of Russian meddling in 2016. But just days before the midterm elections, a key part of Facebook’s effort is broken, and it’s unclear if the company is doing anything to fix it. The company has touted new rules for political… Read more »
Why robots will build the cities of the future
Shinichi Sakamoto is 57, and works for Shimizu, one of Japan’s biggest construction companies. He is part of a greying, and dwindling, workforce. “The thing is, statistics show a third of [Japanese construction] labourers are over 54 years old, and they are considering retiring so soon,” says Mr Sakamoto, who is deputy head of Shimizu’s… Read more »
London Fashion Week 2018: Robots take over the runway
A catwalk show at London Fashion Week has divided opinions about the future of fashion. Source: BBC Trends Date: September 20, 2018 Link to video: https://www.bbc.com/news/av/technology-45548805/london-fashion-week-2018-robots-take-over-the-runway Discussion 1) Whether or not this is just a gimmick, why does it matter that robots are featured in fashion? 2) The robots in this “fashion” show are no where near realistic. … Read more »
How talking machines are taking call center jobs
The biggest threat to jobs might not be physical robots, but intelligent software agents that can understand our questions and speak to us, integrating seamlessly with all the other programs we use at home and at work. And call centres are particularly at risk. Last week we learned that British retail giant Marks & Spencer… Read more »
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