.
From DSC:
With thanks going out to Mr. Steve Knode for his excellent newsletter (his April 2013 Emerging Information Technologies (EIT) newsletter in this case) that pointed this resource out.
On 04/26/2013,
in chemistry, computer science, engineering, entrepreneurship, higher education, robotics,
by Daniel Christian
From DSC:
There seems to be some potential here for Computer Science students, Engineering majors, Chemistry students, aspiring entrepreneurs in the Business/Economics Departments out there, and more…
On 04/23/2013,
in business, career development, change, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, robotics, workplace,
by Daniel Christian
Why robots are ready for takeoff –– from cnn.com by Keller Rinaudo
Robot pharmacist fills patient prescriptions — from NBC News by Todd Kenreck
Will robots create new jobs when they take over existing ones? — from technologyreview.com by Tom Simonite
A new class of smarter robots is being readied for the workplace.
Robots and jobs, a nuanced issue — from abb-conversations.com by Per Vegard Nerseth
Judging by some of the headlines around the world it would be easy to conclude that robots are the source of our employment problems. The reality is far more nuanced.
On 04/08/2013,
in 21st century, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, career development, computer science, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, dangers of the status quo, future, professional development, robotics, technologies for your home, the downsides of how people use tech, United States, workplace,
by Daniel Christian
Technology is eating your job (part 2) — For those who need more convincing — by Michelle Martin
Excerpts:
The reason I’m harping on technology so much is because for most of us, I believe this is a ticking time bomb we are trying to ignore. Most of us want to keep our heads down and just keep working, hoping that we aren’t going to be the ones displaced by a piece of software or some other form of automation.
This will be a mistake. And it will blow up in your face. You need to start thinking now about how to future-proof yourself as much as possible so that you’re more prepared for this breaking wave of technology.
From DSC:
This is truly a troubling subject. I often ask myself the following questions:
- Is an entire swath of people being left behind?
- Am I in that swath?
(It sure feels like it at times; it feels like the tidal waves of change are washing over us and we’re all starting to flail about. Perhaps it’s too early to tell, but I think we’ll all feel this soon.) - What do we do about this developing situation? What does it mean for K-12? Higher ed? The corporate world?
Thanks Michelle for the important posting/heads-up!
For some solutions/thoughts here, see Michelle’s posting:
On 03/28/2013,
in 21st century, career development, change, changing business models, computer science, corporate / business world, disruption, programming, robotics, workplace,
by Daniel Christian
How the internet is making us poor — from qz.com by Christopher Mims
Excerpt:
Everyone knows the story of how robots replaced humans on the factory floor. But in the broader sweep of automation versus labor, a trend with far greater significance for the middle class—in rich countries, at any rate—has been relatively overlooked: the replacement of knowledge workers with software.
Also see:
- Automation and employment–Posner – — from becker-posner-blog.com
. - How robots are eating the last of America’s—and the world’s—traditional manufacturing jobs —from qz.com by Christopher Mims — February 15, 2013
. - Race Against the Machine — by Erik Brynjolfsson and Andrew McAfee
. - Here’s the difference between repeating slogans and understanding a concept — by Andrew McAfee
. - Software is eating the world. What it means for your business. — from onesaas.com by Aaron Beashel
.
From DSC:
So…what courses aren’t we teaching in K-12 and in higher ed that we need to be teaching to help our students get prepared for this quickly-changing situation in the workplace? Now? In the near future?
What’s some good career advice (or resources) out there?
Dan Pink’s A Whole New Mind is one resource that comes to mind.
On 03/28/2013,
in emerging technologies, engineering, future, legislatures / government / legal, robotics,
by Daniel Christian
Updated Robotics Roadmap presented to US congress — from robohub.org by Frank Tobe
Excerpt:
Henrik Christensen, the KUKA Chair of Robotics at GA Tech and Chairman of the Roadmap project, Rodney Brooks, CEO of Rethink Robotics, Pete Wurman, CTO of Kiva Systems, and Russ Angold, CTO of Ekso Bionics all presented the new Roadmap to a packed gallery of the Robotics Caucus of the US Congress
The Roadmap and presentation covered six areas of robotics:
- Manufacturing
- Medical Robots
- Healthcare
- Service
- Space
- Defense
The roadmap is here:
Meet the next generation of smartphone-based robot companions — from popsci.com by Miriam Kramer
Office Whiz
The robot Double can give any telecommuter a physical presence in meetings.
Clockwise from top: courtesy Double; Everett Collection; courtesy Tovbot; courtesy Romotive
The robot Double can give any telecommuter a physical presence in meetings.
Clockwise from top: courtesy Double; Everett Collection; courtesy Tovbot; courtesy Romotive
From DSC:
No doubt that there are positives and negatives to this kind of thing. However, as I’m trying to relay items of interest/impact, I thought I’d post this here.
On 02/06/2013,
in 21st century, career development, change, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, dangers of the status quo, Daniel S. Christian, economics, emerging technologies, future, global, higher education, K-12 related, reinvent, robotics, social learning / networks, social media, society, streams of content, surviving, workplace,
by Daniel Christian
From DSC:
First, what prompted the questions and reflections that are listed below? For that, I turn to some recent items that I ran across involving the use of robotics and whether that may or may not be affecting employment:
The work of Erik Brynjolfsson and Andrew McAfee; for example their book Race Against the Machine
Excerpt of description:
But digital innovation has also changed how the economic pie is distributed, and here the news is not good for the median worker. As technology races ahead, it can leave many people behind. Workers whose skills have been mastered by computers have less to offer the job market, and see their wages and prospects shrink. Entrepreneurial business models, new organizational structures and different institutions are needed to ensure that the average worker is not left behind by cutting-edge machines.
How to freak out responsibly about the rise of the robots — from theatlantic.com by Derek Thompson
It’s fun to imagine an economy where machines are smarter than humans. But we don’t need an artificial crisis over artificial intelligence.
Excerpt:
Let’s say it upfront: Technology can replace jobs and (at least temporarily) increase income inequality. From the spinning jenny to those massive mechanical arms flying wildly around car assembly lines, technology raises productivity by helping workers accomplish more in less time (i.e.: put a power drill in a human hand) and by replacing workers altogether (i.e.: build a power-drilling bot).
…
What ails us today isn’t a surplus of robots, but a deficit of demand. Yes, we have a manufacturing industry undergoing a sensational, but job-killing, productivity revolution — very much like the one that took farm employment from 40 percent in 1900 to less than 5 percent today. But the other nine-tenths of the economy are basically going through an old-fashioned weak-but-steady recovery, the kind that hundreds of years of financial crises would predict.
America has hit “peak jobs” — from techcrunch.com by Jon Evans
Excerpt:
“The middle class is being hollowed out,” says James Altucher. “Economists are shifting their attention toward a […] crisis in the United States: the significant increase in income inequality,” reports the New York Times.
Think all those job losses over the last five years were just caused by the recession? No: “Most of the jobs will never return, and millions more are likely to vanish as well, say experts who study the labor market,” according to an AP report on how technology is killing middle-class jobs.
Technology and the employment challenge — from project-syndicate.org by Michael Spence
Excerpt:
MILAN – New technologies of various kinds, together with globalization, are powerfully affecting the range of employment options for individuals in advanced and developing countries alike – and at various levels of education. Technological innovations are not only reducing the number of routine jobs, but also causing changes in global supply chains and networks that result in the relocation of routine jobs – and, increasingly, non-routine jobs at multiple skill levels – in the tradable sector of many economies.
Man vs. robot — from macleans.ca by Peter Nowak
.
.
Secondly, some reflections (from DSC)
I wonder…
- What types of jobs are opening up now? (example here)
- What types of jobs will be opening up soon? How about in 3-5 years from now?
- Should these trends affect the way we educate and prepare our kids today?
- Should these trends affect the way we help employees grow/reinvent themselves?
Again, for me, the answer lies at least partly in helping people consistently obtain the knowledge that they need — i.e. to help them build, grow, and maintain their own learning ecosystems — throughout their lifetimes. We need to help people dip their feet into the appropriate streams of content that are constantly flowing by.
Perhaps that’s one of the key new purposes that K-12, higher ed, and the corporate training departments out there will play in the future as they sift through the massive amounts of information coming at us to help individuals identify:
.
- What are the most effective tools — and methods — that people can use to connect with others?
(Then allow folks to pick what works best for them. Current examples: blogging/RSS feeds, Twitter, social bookmarking.)
.
- Who are some of the folks within each particular discipline/line of work that others (who want to learn about those disciplines) should know about?
.
- What trends are coming down the pike and how should we be preparing ourselves — and/or our organizations — for those changes?
.
Attack of the telepresence robots! — from informationweek.com by Rick Lehrbaum, BYTE
From DSC: Note the language/subtitle –> Devices: Bring Your Own Human!
Excerpt:
The growing trend toward telecommuting and outsourcing has driven companies to seek ways for remote workers and teams to communicate and collaborate more efficiently and effectively. This need has inspired a handful of innovative high-tech startups to create a new market: remote telepresence robots.
On 01/07/2013,
in emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, K-12 related, platforms, project-based learning, real-world assignments, robotics, staying relevant,
by Daniel Christian
From DSC: I originally saw this at
Mindstorms EV3: LEGO Education unveils its next generation robotics platform
from HackEducation.com by Audrey Watters
On 12/13/2012,
in 21st century, A/V -- audio/visual, blogs / blogging / vlogging, career development, Daniel S. Christian, digital audio, digital learning, digital video, education technology, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, game-changing environment, global, homeschooling/homeschoolers, human-computer interaction (HCI), ideas, innovation, learning ecosystem, machine-to-machine communications, metacognition / metacognitive skills, mobile learning, mobile technologies, more voice more choice more control, multimedia, online learning, participation, passions, personalized/customized learning, professional development, real-world assignments, robotics, student-related, videoconferencing, web-based collaboration,
by Daniel Christian
“Mom! Check out what I did at school today!”
If you’re a parent, don’t you love to hear the excitement in your son’s or daughter’s voice when they bring home something from school that really peaked their interest? Their passions?
I woke up last night with several ideas and thoughts on how technology could help students become — and stay — engaged, while passing over more control and choice to the students in order for them to pursue their own interests and passions. The idea would enable students to efficiently gain some exposure to a variety of things to see if those things were interesting to them — perhaps opening a way for a future internship or, eventually, a career.
The device I pictured in my mind was the sort of device that I saw a while back out at Double Robotics and/or at Suitable Technologies:
.
The thoughts centered on implementing a growing network of such remote-controlled, mobile, videoconferencing-based sorts of devices, that were hooked up to voice translation engines. Students could control such devices to pursue things that they wanted to know more about, such as:
- Touring the Louvre in Paris
- Being backstage at a Broadway musical or checking out a live performance of Macbeth
- Watching a filming of a National Geographic Special in the Fiji Islands
- Attending an IEEE International Conference in Taiwan
- Attending an Educause Conference or a Sloan C event to get further knowledge about how to maximize your time studying online or within a hybrid environment
- Touring The Exploratorium in San Francisco
- Touring the Museum of Science & Industry in Chicago
- Being a fly on the wall during a Senate hearing/debate
- Seeing how changes are made in the assembly lines at a Ford plant
- Or perhaps, when a student wheels their device to a particular area — such as the front row of a conference, the signal automatically switches to the main speaker/event (keynote speakers, panel, etc. via machine-to-machine communications)
- Inviting guest speakers into a class: pastors, authors, poets, composers, etc.
- Work with local/virtual teams on how to heighten public awareness re: a project that deals with sustainability
- Virtually head to another country to immerse themselves in another country’s language — and, vice versa, help them learn the students’ native languages
For accountability — as well as for setting aside intentional time to process the information — students would update their own blogs about what they experienced, heard, and saw. They would need to include at least one image, along with the text they write about their experience. Or perhaps a brief/edited piece of digital video or audio of some of the statements that they heard that really resonated with them, or that they had further questions on. The default setting on such postings would be to be kept private, but if the teacher and the student felt that a posting could/should be made public, a quick setting could be checked to publish it out there for others to see/experience.
Real world. Engaging. Passing over more choice and control to the students so that they can pursue what they are passionate about.