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Evolving with technology can present several issues for people in the workforce. For example, when it comes to upskilling and training, workers may not have the time or money. Sinead Bovell, the founder of WAYE , believes that the rapid growth of technology will force many people to turn to entrepreneurship. WAYE, which stands for “Weekly Advice for Young Entrepreneurs,” is an organization that teaches people about the intersection of tech and business through panel discussions and workshops. “As technology continues to automate, a lot of us are going to have to pivot into an entrepreneurial lane,” Bovell said. According to a recent study by McKinsey , the push toward automation could have some negative impacts on Black workers. More African American workers are in slow-growing, low-paying support roles compared to the rest of the general American population. Support roles will most likely be replaced by automation, making African Americans most vulnerable to the technology’s...
We are living at the crossroads of the future, where automation , Artificial Intelligence, and code are being used heavily. Although the use of technology is increasing, it is neither new nor the first time workers have had to deal with the possible threat of being replaced by machines. In the film, Hidden Figures , NASA transitions from human computers to machine computers. Mathematicians, Katherine Johnson , Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary Jackson broke down gender and racial walls while learning how to operate the machines that had the potential to replace them. Today, we see more and more companies moving toward automation to cut costs and drive profits. Technical innovations come at a rapid pace, but once these innovations are on the market, these machines and computers will need someone with the technical skills to keep production running. This is our opportunity as Blacks in America. Since we have not transitioned to a world of total automation, we have an opportunity to get the...
There is no denying that we live in a digital age. From the home to the workplace, technology continues to transform our spaces. Just look at how self-checkout machines have impacted your shopping experience. When people think of industries utilizing tech innovations, they often focus on those such as auto and aerospace, but there’s no industry in the United States that isn’t ripe for tech disruption. As people continue to encourage industries to revitalize their game plans and “prepare for the inevitable,” it’s important to confront some myths about disruption. To start, tech disruption should not be framed as an inevitability. Doing so makes people think they’re powerless over tech, which is ironic given that we are the ones who create it. After all, tech is not a sentiment. It is not capable of deciding, for itself, to disrupt anything. People are behind tech disruptions. By acknowledging that, we can frame the conversation around conscious choices rather than pretending that it...
Self-driving cars used to be something only found in sci-fi and superhero movies, but they’re quickly becoming a reality. Waymo, the self-driving car company owned by Alphabet, has announced it is opening a factory in Detroit. Waymo is partnering with American Axle & Manufacturing to repurpose an existing facility that will house the production of the company’s L4 autonomous vehicles. The factory is set to open later this year. “We wanted this facility to benefit from a location in southeast Michigan — the heart of the American automotive industry — and its strong talent base,” Waymo said in a blog post. The factory is set to bring more than 400 jobs to the Motor City, giving it the economic push that it needs. Detroit filed for bankruptcy more than five years ago, as it suffered from more than $18 billion of debt, according to NPR. The city has since climb itself out of an economic hole and more tech companies have set its eyes on Detroit as they look to expand. Twitter and Google...
If you’ve forgotten how ingrained automation is, just take a look around at the self-checkout machines dominating supermarkets. This process opens up a lot of questions about the fate of workers but, in the United Kingdom, some groups are using automation to push for their own benefits. Earlier this week, the UK’s Office of Data and Statistics released a report and found that 1.5 million workers are at “high risk” of losing their jobs to automation. According to the report, women and part-time workers were especially vulnerable, accounting for 70.2 percent and 69.9 percent of employees at risk, respectively. No matter what, this will have big consequences for workers in the UK — but who says they have to be totally screwed? Unite, a trade union in the UK is using this report to call for a shorter work week, according to Gizmodo . That might seem counterintuitive, but the executive officer for Unite, Sharon Graham, laid it all out in a statement: “New technology is going to...
This article originally published on March 3, 2019 Photographer, Jimmy Nelson, wants to use artificial intelligence to ensure stories and images of indigenous peoples aren’t lost while western culture continues to dominate the internet. The Preservation Robot — unveiled this week at SXSW — is an automated platform amplifying images of indigenous people on the internet with the goal of protecting these seemingly forgotten cultures. “Indigenous culture is visually underrepresented – and often misrepresented,” Nelson said during his unveiling . “I’m taking a stand by launching The Preservation Robot. Using technology to invert homogenization.” Westernization and the rise of globalization have put indigenous peoples in danger of having their cultures erased, according to Nelson. This program wants to help combat that. The robot uses autonomy and artificial intelligence to place images of indigenous peoples in open spaces on the internet. These spaces include social platforms and free...
Zoox, the autonomous taxi startup in Silicon Valley, just named Intel’s former Senior Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer Aicha Evans as its new CEO. Zoox focuses on autonomous mobility, and since starting in 2014, the company has raised more than $750 million. The startup currently has 700 employees, and its most recent hire is expected to take the company to new heights. “I’m thrilled to join Zoox and challenge the status quo with an autonomous mobility system built from the ground up,” Evans said in a statement . “Mobility is approaching a major inflection point, and Zoox has set itself apart from entrenched players as the only company creating a solution purpose-built to meet the needs of a fully autonomous future.” Evans spent 12 years at Intel before making the switch to Zoox. “Aicha is an accomplished business leader and a strategic thinker with the right mix of skills to help turn Zoox’s ambitious vision into a reality,” said Zoox Executive Chairman Carl Bass. Zoox has...
The changes artificial intelligence will have on the workforce will be substantial in years to come. And now, according to Tech Crunch , companies that are automating repetitive tasks are seeing big valuations as businesses look to replace their office workers. Tech brands UiPath and Automation Anywhere each develop automation robotics and have recently received notable amounts of funding. UiPath earned $225 million in its last funding round, while Automation Anywhere, whose customers include Google, Unilever and Comcast, received $250 million. Companies across various industries want to automate customer support, scheduling, hiring and employee analytics and investors are pouring into the places that know how to make it happen. Sequoia Capital and Alphabet’s CapitalG led the funding for UiPath and helped bring the company to $408 million in funding and a $3 billion valuation. Goldman Sachs invested in Automation Anywhere’s latest funding round, bringing the robot-maker to a $1.8...