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Are robots hurting job growth?

Charlie Bess| January 14, 2013
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automation.pngYesterday, on 60 minutes (a prime-time TV news program in the US) there was a story: Are Robots Hurting Job Growth.  In this session, Erik Brynjolfsson and Andrew McAfee of MIT were interviewed – they wrote Race Against the Machine a couple of years ago. They discussed the changes taking place during this econmic downturn at the technological intersection of automation and employment. The concept of a jobless recovery is one that I’ve mentioned on this blog a few times before. This news interview added some other perspectives about the implications, showing that the employment situation may not be as bleak as some say.

 

There are a number of things that we can all do to help with this shift in expectations and skills:

1)      Support STEM education in schools – more of these skills will be required going forward.

2)      Invest time and resources on innovative ideas, turning them into actual innovation – and of course encourage others who are doing the same.

3)      Collaborate since diversity of perspective accelerates innovation

 

I always use cloud computing as an example of the kind of automation and innovation that will be coming to other business processes (outside of IT). In a very short time, it has become the expectation that an organization can spin up hundreds or even thousands of virtual machines. Something that was inconceivable just a few years ago. We are all benefiting from cloud automation and whole new types of opportunities (and jobs) are developing.

Tags: automation| cloud computing| Innovation| Robotics| virtualization View All (5)
Labels: automation| cloud computing| Innovation| Robotics | Virtualization
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About the Author
  • Steve Simske is an HP Fellow and Director in the Printing and Content Delivery Lab in Hewlett-Packard Labs, and is the Director and Chief Technologist for the HP Labs Security Printing and Imaging program.
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