Top Emerging Technologies

Top Emerging Technologies in 2024: We live in a digital era today, and embracing digitalization is no longer a choice; it’s a necessity. With the advent of new digital trends and technologies and their rapid advancements, we are evolving at an unprecedented pace, heralding a new era of development. 

These emerging technologies are poised to transform industries, address global challenges, and improve lives worldwide.

The World Economic Forum, in collaboration with Frontiers, has unveiled 10 groundbreaking technologies that have the “potential impact of addressing multiple global challenges, from advancements in materials science to transformative technologies in healthcare,” as noted in a WEF press release.

“It also spotlights technologies with immense potential for revolutionizing connectivity, addressing the urgent challenges of climate change and driving innovation across various fields,” Jeremy Jurgens, managing director, of the World Economic Forum and head of the Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution, stated in the release.     READ MORE...

Work Revolutionized by ROBOTS

In 2015, Klaus Schwab, founder of the World Economic Forum, asserted that we were on the brink of a “Fourth Industrial Revolution,” one powered by a fusion of technologies, such as advanced robotics, artificial intelligence, and the Internet of Things.

“[This revolution] will fundamentally alter the way we live, work, and relate to one another,” wrote Schwab in an essay published in Foreign Affairs. “In its scale, scope, and complexity, the transformation will be unlike anything humankind has experienced before.”

The recent surge of developments in AI and robotics — and their deployment into the workforce — seems right in line with his predictions, although almost ten years on.

“We see a future where 

general-purpose robots are 

as ubiquitous as cars, 

helping people to do work 

that needs doing.”

GEORDIE ROSE

While robots have been in factories for decades, they’ve traditionally been purpose-built to automate just one task — a robotic arm might be added to the assembly line at an auto factory to weld two parts together over and over again, for example Humanoids are robots that mimic the size, shape, and capabilities of people. That would make them a perfect physical fit for any workspace.         READ MORE...

Humans VERSUS Artificial Intelligence

“What’s the core competence of human beings?” Fareed Zakaria’s brutally simple question to OpenAI boss Sam Altman boiled down an hour-long discussion over the future of technology to its essence: in a world racing to develop the first artificial general intelligence, what does humanity still excel at when a machine comes along that is effectively smarter in every way?

No one on the World Economic Forum’s panel, Altman included, had a convincing answer for the CNN journalist moderating the panel in Davos on Thursday.

“I admit it does feel different this time. General purpose cognition feels so close to what we all treasure about humanity that it does feel different,” conceded the CEO of the company behind ChatGPT, before venturing into a prediction.

“We [humans] will make decisions about what should happen in the world,” said Altman.  READ MORE...

Robots Taking Over Jobs by 2025

There are two sides to this coin: Robots and AI will take some jobs away from humans — but they will also create new ones. Since 2000, robots and automation systems have slowly phased out many manufacturing jobs — 1.7 million of them. On the flip side, it’s predicted that AI will create 97 million new jobs by 2025.

WILL ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI) REPLACE JOBS?
AI is and will continue to replace some jobs. Workers in industries ranging from healthcare to agriculture and industrial sectors can all expect to see disruptions in hiring due to AI. But demand for workers, especially in robotics and software engineering, are expected to rise thanks to AI.

Some people don’t see it both ways. For example, Sean Chou, former CEO of AI startup Catalytic, thinks robots are stupid —and he’s not alone in his frank assessment.

“All you have to do is type in ‘YouTube robot fail,’” Chou said.

Don’t misunderstand, though; it isn’t that the machines aren’t rising. It’s that they’re rising much more slowly than some of the more breathless media coverage might have you believe — which is great news for most of those who think robots and other AI-powered technology will soon steal their jobs. “Most of” being the operative words.

Types of Jobs AI Will Impact
The consensus among many experts is that a number of professions will be totally automated in the next five to 10 years. A group of senior-level tech executives who comprise the Forbes Technology Council named 15: insurance underwriting, warehouse and manufacturing jobs, customer service, research and data entry, long haul trucking and a somewhat disconcertingly broad category titled “Any Tasks That Can Be Learned.”

HOW MANY JOBS WILL AI REPLACE?
According to the World Economic Forum's "The Future of Jobs Report 2020," AI is expected to replace 85 million jobs worldwide by 2025. Though that sounds scary, the report goes on to say that it will also create 97 million new jobs in that same timeframe.

Kai-Fu Lee, AI expert and CEO of Sinovation Ventures, wrote in a 2018 essay that 50 percent of all jobs will be automated by AI within 15 years.

“Accountants, factory workers, truckers, paralegals, and radiologists — just to name a few — will be confronted by a disruption akin to that faced by farmers during the Industrial Revolution,” Lee wrote.

When considering those developments and predictions, and based on multiple studies — by the McKinsey Global Institute, Oxford University and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, among others — there is massive and unavoidable change afoot. Research suggests that both specially trained workers and blue-collar workers will be impacted by the continued implementation of AI.

Developments in generative AI tools like ChatGPT and Bard have raised questions about if AI will replace jobs that involve writing. While it’s unlikely that AI will ever match the authentic creativity of humans, it is already being used as a catalyst for writing ideas and assisting with repetitive content creation.  READ MORE...

What Worries The Entire World

According to IPSOS.

the top global concerns are:

1. Covid-19 (33%), 
2. Poverty/social inequality (31%), 
3. Unemployment (29%), 
4. Financial/political corruption (27%), 
5. Crime and violence (26%).

Ipsos Group S.A. is a multinational market research and consulting firm with headquarters in Paris, France. The company was founded in 1975 by Didier Truchot, Chairman of the company, and has been publicly traded on the Paris Stock Exchange since July 1, 1999. Wikipedia

BUT,

According to Human Rights Careers,

the top global concerns are:

1. poverty
2. climate change
3. food insecurity
4. refugee rights
5. Covid 19

NOTE:  What are the most pressing issues in the world today? What will demand the most attention in the next 5, 10, and 20+ years? In this article, which frequently refers to the World Economic Forum’s 17th Edition of the Global Risks Report, we’ll highlight 20 current global issues we must address, including issues related to climate change, COVID-19, social rights, and more. While it’s hardly a comprehensive discussion, it’s a solid introduction to the kinds of concerns facing our world today.  To Read More About this, CLICK HERE...

According to the World Economic Forum 2022...

Here’s a look at the WEF’s Top 10 Global Risks by Severity:

1. Climate action failure
2. Extreme weather
3. Biodiversity loss
4. Social cohesion erosion
5. Livelihood crises
6. Infectious diseases
7. Human environmental damage
8. Natural resource crises
9. Debt crises
10. Geoeconomic confrontation

To read more about what the WEF thinks, CLICK HERE...

SIDEBAR:

The meeting (WEF) brings together some 3,000 paying members and selected participants – among whom are investors, business leaders, political leaders, economists, celebrities and journalists – for up to five days to discuss global issues across 500 sessions.

Now, I don't attend the WEF and will never attend the WEF, but there seems to be a disconnect between what our global leaders think is important and what our global citizens know is important...

Jobs Lost Due To Automation

In 2021, approximately 3 million robots roam around our factories, doing the heavy-lifting for us.

From an efficiency perspective, that’s no doubt a good thing.

But the image of a never-tired and always precise machine doing everything much faster does raise a question in our minds:

Will My Job Be Automated?

You’re right to wonder if that applies to you if you hold a clerical job. Or if you work on a production line, repetitively doing essentially the same simple task.

It’s time to dive into the jobs lost to robots statistics.

Fascinating Stats and Facts on Jobs Lost To Automation

• As many as 30% of jobs will be replaced by automation, especially the boring and repetitive ones.
• 1.5 million people in England are at high risk of losing their jobs to automation, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
• We’re at risk of losing 375 million jobs worldwide by 2030.
• 14 to 80 million U.S. jobs are at risk of being automated.
• The Brookings Institution estimated that 36 million workers will lose their jobs because of AI.
• World Economic Forum says machines will create 58 million new jobs.

Let’s look closely at the numbers first, and then decide if you need to be considering options.

Eye-Opening Jobs Lost to Automation Statistics for 2022
Those working in the food preparation sector should worry. Or so the automation statistics for 2022 tell us.

Wanna know more?

Read on...

Robots Already Taking US Jobs

GETTY

If we didn’t have enough to worry about—Covid-19, a nation divided, massive job losses and civil unrest—now we have to be concerned that robots will take our jobs.

The World Economic Forum (WEF) concluded in a recent report that “a new generation of smart machines, fueled by rapid advances in artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics, could potentially replace a large proportion of existing human jobs.” Robotics and AI will cause a serious “double-disruption,” as the coronavirus pandemic pushed companies to fast-track the deployment of new technologies to slash costs, enhance productivity and be less reliant on real-life people.

Millions of people have lost their jobs due to the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic and now the machines will take away even more jobs from workers, according to the WEF. The organization cites that automation will supplant about 85 million jobs by 2025. WEF says there’s nothing to worry about since its analysis anticipates the future tech-driven economy will create 97 million new jobs. Currently, approximately 30% of all tasks are done by machines—and people do the rest. However, by the year 2025, it's believed that the balance will dramatically change to a 50-50 combination of humans and machines.

Management consulting giant PriceWaterhouseCoopers reported, “AI, robotics and other forms of smart automation have the potential to bring great economic benefits, contributing up to $15 trillion to global GDP by 2030.” However, it will come with a high human cost. “This extra wealth will also generate the demand for many jobs, but there are also concerns that it could displace many existing jobs.”

In a dire prediction, WEF said, “While some new jobs would be created as in the past, the concern is there may not be enough of these to go round, particularly as the cost of smart machines falls over time and their capabilities increase.”

Concerns of new technologies disrupting the workforce and causing job losses have been around for a long time. On one side, the argument is automation will create better new jobs and erase the need for physical labor. The counterclaim is that people without the appropriate skills will be displaced and not have a home in the new environment.  READ MORE...