Tag Archives: employment

Why professional work is the killer app for augmented reality

by Ben Dickson
Google Glass enterprise edition

Google Glass Enterprise Edition (Source: X Development LLC)

Augmented reality is becoming the new competition ground for major tech companies. All of the five big players, Google, Facebook, Apple, Amazon and Microsoft, are making big investments in AR projects. Some of these projects includes smartphones with AR-enabling hardware, AR headsets and AR application development platforms.

But is all this investment aimed at enabling users to play the next version of Pokemon Go, put cat mustaches on their selfies or preview how furniture will look in their living room? Continue reading →

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What is the future of artificial intelligence?

by Ben Dickson

This article is part of Demystifying AI, a series of posts that (try to) disambiguate the jargon and myths surrounding AI.

Where will humans fit in a world where robots outsmart them? This is the focus of a heated debate between thought leaders and tech billionaires.

Some believe we’re steadily meandering toward an AI apocalypse, where humans are either obliterated or enslaved by robots, and we must act quickly to prevent it. Others will tell you that artificial intelligence will always be the subservient best friend of mankind, even when it outwits its creators, and we should move ahead with developing AI at full speed. Continue reading →

Rose: AI needs greater representation from the humanities

by Ben Dickson

As Artificial Intelligence evolves from myth and buzzword into a reality that permeates every aspect of our lives, much speculation is made over what the future challenges will be. Among them is the effect of Artificial Intelligence on employment, or specifically how it will displace jobs and the workforce.

Many of the jobs that are performed by humans today are under the looming threat of being overtaken by robots. But we’re still a long way from general and super AI, the technology that will rival or surpass human intelligence and reasoning.

This means there are still plenty of jobs for humans to perform, if only they require different skill sets. However, we need to view the displacement of work from a different perspective, some experts believe. Continue reading →

Artificial Intelligence and the disruption of employment

by Ben Dickson

We are at the cusp of the next industrial revolution—or maybe it’s in full swing already. Artificial intelligence, Internet of Things, cloud computing, smartphones, and a slew of other technologies that were unknown or sci-fi before the turn of the century are redefining and disrupting different aspects of life as we know it today.

As with every industrial revolution, most of the changes overcoming our lives are pleasant. Efficiency, safety, comfort, lower energy consumption, lower costs. These are just some of the advantages brought by these technologies.

But the same trends drag in tow some less appreciated disruptions, namely the upheaval of the socio-economic landscape. Employment is undergoing fundamental changes. Continue reading →