Category: After Capitalism
-
Exploring What’s After Capitalism
Questioning the Socio-Economic Order From the Great Recession of 2008 to Italy’s Five-Star Movement and the US Tea Party Movement, there’s been signs that the neoliberal order is under stress and facing a rebellion from the masses, from Occupy Wall Street on the left to Tea Party on the right. This summer I’m helping Professor Andy Hines, co-founder of […]
-
UN Report: Robots Will Replace Two-Thirds of Workers in the Developing World
It’s been one year since I published the “Saudi Disruption”, a 2036 scenario in which a Saudi investment in automated manufacturing displaces over four million Bangladeshi workers in the textile industry, leading to unrest and political upheaval. A new UN report (PDF) warns that “about two thirds of all jobs” will be lost to automation […]
-
Singapore Self-Driving Taxis to Economic Stagnation
Field Notes on the Automation Trap (06 August 2016) Your weekly notes on happenings, news, signals related to automation and alternative means on economic development. See more at The Automation Trap. I. ROBOTS IN THE NEWS The Second Order Impact of Self-Driving Cars Chris Dixon, a partner at Andreessen Horowitz, sees self-driving cars could mean: more […]
-
Should European Robots pay Social Security Tax?
Field Notes on the Automation Trap (2nd of July) Your weekly notes on happenings, news, signals related to automation and alternative means on economic development. See more at The Automation Trap. Should European Robots pay Social Security Tax? The European Commission is considering classifying robots as “electronic persons with specific rights and obligations” with requirements […]
-
Geneva Convention for War Robots? Blockchains for central banks?
Field Notes on the Automation Trap (22 June 2016) Your weekly notes on happenings, news, signals related to automation and alternative means on economic development. See more at The Automation Trap. How do we include War Robots in the Geneva Conventions? The prospect of autonomous weapons – drones that can decide to take a human […]
-
Small Robot Invasion of Farms, Malls, Walmart
Field Notes on the Automation Trap (11 June 2016) These are my personal notes on happenings, news, signals related to my research on automation and alternative means on economic development. See The Automation Trap. Rise of Small Farm Robots: Or why the miniaturization of farm machinery will help encourage small, diverse farms. via Brian Halweil (18 […]
-
Robots take 60,000 jobs in China, drive taxis in Singapore and more…
Field Notes on the Automation Trap (25 May 2016) These are my personal notes on happenings, news, signals related to my research on automation and alternative means on economic development. See The Automation Trap. “60,000 workers culled from just one factory as China’s struggling electronics hub turns to artificial intelligence” Via SCMP (22 May 2016): […]
-
Saudi Arabia as a high-tech manufacturing hub?
When the Saudis Disrupt Bangladesh A Possible (Plausible?) Article from 20 March 2037 1. Beginning of the Saudi Disruption Back in early February, a World Bank report marked 2036 as the year Saudi Arabia officially joined the ranks of China, Japan, the United States, and Germany as one of the world’s top ten global manufacturing […]
-
Robots & Algorithms: Long Term Threats to Developing Countries?
Software substitution, whether it’s for drivers or waiters or nurses … it’s progressing… 20 years from now, labor demand for lots of skill sets will be substantially lower. I don’t think people have that in their mental model. – Bill Gates NOTE: I’m learning how to improve my writing. Do you have tips on how to be […]
-
Reading List: Fast Food Orders & Technology as Job-Killers
While Occupy Wall Street goes global and sometimes violent (see Oakland), how much of the income disparity in the United States is due to technology hollowing out the American middle class? What has happened to bank tellers, travel agents and printing press shops? “How Technology Is Eliminating Higher-Skill Jobs” http://www.npr.org/2011/11/03/141949820/how-technology-is-eliminating-higher-skill-jobs “He says machines […]