Archive for the 'Economy' Category
Mining 24 Hours a Day with Robots
January 4th, 2017Via: MIT Technology Review: Mining companies are rolling out autonomous trucks, drills, and trains, which will boost efficiency but also reduce the need for human employees. Each of these trucks is the size of a small two-story house. None has a driver or anyone else on board. Mining company Rio Tinto has 73 of these […]
Rethinking The Cost of War
January 4th, 2017Via: ProPublica: There are many ways to measure the cost of U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War: In bombs (7 million tons), in dollars ($760 billion in today’s dollars) and in bodies (58,220). Then there’s the price of caring for those who survived: Each year, the Department of Veterans Affairs spends more than $23 billion […]
IBM Watson Replaces Insurance Claim Workers at Japanese Insurance Company
January 4th, 2017Via: Quartz: Most of the attention around automation focuses on how factory robots and self-driving cars may fundamentally change our workforce, potentially eliminating millions of jobs. But AI that can handle knowledge-based, white-collar work are also becoming increasingly competent. One Japanese insurance company, Fukoku Mutual Life Insurance, is reportedly replacing 34 human insurance claim workers […]
Ford Announces $4.5 Billion Investment in Electric Vehicles
January 4th, 2017Via: Ars Technica: Today at the Flat Rock Assembly Plant, Ford Motor Company CEO Mark Fields unveiled a large-scale electric vehicle initiative that will run through the company’s next five years. Ford plans to invest $4.5 billion in electric vehicle production by 2020, and the company said it will produce 13 new electric vehicles, including […]
Nestlé Admits Slavery in Its Supply Chains
January 4th, 2017This is from nearly a year ago… For your already hemorrhaging Nestlé file folder. Via: Guardian: It’s hard to think of an issue that you would less like your company to be associated with than modern slavery. Yet last November Nestlé, the world’s largest foodmaker and one of the most recognisable household brands, went public […]
Foxconn Plans to Replace Almost Every Human Worker with Robots
January 1st, 2017Just in case anyone out there thinks that this is somehow not real, or not going to happen, ASUS moved to 100% automation for video card production back in 2015. Via: The Verge: Foxconn, the Taiwanese manufacturing giant behind Apple’s iPhone and numerous other major electronics devices, aims to automate away a vast majority of […]
Growing Number of Americans Are Retiring Outside the U.S.
December 28th, 2016Via: AP: Newly widowed, Kay McCowen quit her job, sold her house, applied for Social Security and retired to Mexico. It was a move she and her husband, Mel, had discussed before he passed away in 2012. “I wanted to find a place where I could afford to live off my Social Security,” she said. […]
World’s Largest Hedge Fund to Replace Managers with Artificial Intelligence
December 22nd, 2016Via: Guardian: The world’s largest hedge fund is building a piece of software to automate the day-to-day management of the firm, including hiring, firing and other strategic decision-making. Bridgewater Associates has a team of software engineers working on the project at the request of billionaire founder Ray Dalio, who wants to ensure the company can […]
Home Ownership Among 25-Year-Olds in England and Wales Has Halved in 20 Years
December 22nd, 2016Via: Guardian: The proportion of 25-year-olds who own a home has more than halved over the past 20 years, according to a report that points to the generational impact of the housing crisis. Home ownership has dropped from 46% of all 25-year-olds two decades ago to 20% now, the Local Government Association said. The LGA, […]
California’s Birthrate Falls to Lowest Level on Record
December 22nd, 2016Via: Los Angeles Times: California’s birthrate dropped to its lowest level ever in 2016, according to data released by the state’s Department of Finance. Between July 2015 and July of this year, there were 12.42 births per 1,000 Californians, the agency said this week. The last time the birthrate came close to being that low […]
