Technology has affected the job market since the time of the Industrial Revolution. In the long run, technological progress has been good for the economy and the job market so far. However, Oxford University researchers predict that up to 47 percent of American jobs are vulnerable to automation in the next 20 years. Jobs that involve repetitive tasks and dont require a great deal of creativity or social intelligence will be most at risk.

So, what you do will be important, when it comes to surviving the automation wave. But new research suggests that where you live will also matter. The study, which was discussed in a recent article in New Scientist, found that workers living in smaller cities and towns should expect a bigger impact from automation than those living in larger cities. Specifically, cities with fewer than 100,000 people were found to be especially vulnerable to job loss.

Iyad Rahwan and his team at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Media Lab discovered that smaller metro areas (cities with fewer than 100,000 residents) are more at risk. This is because jobs in these areas tend to be the types that are more vulnerable to automation. Cities with larger populations are more often able to support a higher percentage of specialist jobs, which are often safe.

Researchers believe that these findings will likely apply to Europe as well as the U.S. This further supports the notion that megacities will grow, and that theyll become increasingly important in the years to come.

Larger cities attract resources, skills, and expertise, Lesley Giles of the Work Foundation in London told New Scientist, and this creates a virtuous cycle of improvement and growth.

Larger cities in other parts of the world may not experience quite the same effect though, according to the study. The impact could be quite different in China, for example, where cities often focus on just one product. These cities would be especially vulnerable to automation even though they have large populations.

Not all U.S. cities are expected to follow the trend. There will be exceptions in areas where the job market operates a little differently. For example, Las Vegas, Nevada is a relatively large city with a population of around 600,000. But, because so much of their economy is dependent on the gambling industry, which is vulnerable to automation, this city is more at risk that its size might suggest.

Researchers also noted that Boulder, Colorado may be another exception to the rule. Although it is a small city with just around 100,000 residents, its also a center of innovation and therefore likely to fare pretty well.

Knowledge really is power. Being able to anticipate these shifts should help workers be a little more prepared. It might make sense to consider training to work in a less vulnerable industry, given these trends. Some workers might also consider relocating to an area where the job market is expected to thrive most likely a large city.

For us to survive the tidal wave of automation we need to be able to do more creative work and combine our skills with others in a creative way, Rahwan told New Scientist. Maybe the metropolis is the answer to our fears.

How do you expect automation to impact the job market in your area? We want to hear from you! Leave a comment or join the discussion on Twitter.

automation future job market

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Automation Will Impact Small Metros More Than Big Cities - PayScale Career News (blog)

Good news for health care workers and truck drivers : Your jobs are unlikely to go to a robot any time soon, according to new research.

If true, that's good news, especially for truck drivers, which other researchers have pegged as an endangered species due to advances in self-driving technology.

Both truck drivers and health care workers like nurses and aides, are subject to constantly changing conditions, which are harder for robots to handle on the fly than more static, repetitive tasks, according to the new State of Automation report from research firm CB Insights.

Related: The Bright Side of Job-Killing Automation

Health care jobs, require "a high degree of emotional awareness and are highly dynamic," CB Insights analyst Deepashri Varadharajan, tells Fortune .

Similarly, the nearly two million truck drivers in the U.S., are probably in better shape than many thought for the next five to ten years, in part due to regulations, which will require humans to be on board trucks going forwardeven if they're not driving.

"Although a lot of companies are investing in driverless trucks, we are still very early in this field," Varadharajan says. "Even if you see the technology taking off, you'll still need a person in the cab."

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And you will need a human operator both at the front- and back-end of each trip. Highway driving is more easily automated than for city driving, which is more fraught with challenges, she says.

Some 4.62 million retail jobs, including cashiers, are at "medium risk" of automation, according to the report. Some stores are testing the use of robots for inventory management and some customer interactions, but the larger risk to retail personnel is that more people shop online rather than in brick-and-mortar stores.

For this research, which looks at the prospect of automation over the next five- to ten years, CB Insights used government data to pick several categories of occupations at risk of automation and then examined related factorsincluding how much automation exists in that field now, investment and patent activity in related areas, tech development challenges, and the ease or difficulty of gaining regulatory approval.

Related: It's Time to Take AI Seriously

In some cases, including health care, technology will help human workers do their jobs more efficiently. Robots, for example, will be used more to move hospital supplies and gear around, so human health aides can focus on the patient instead of logistics. Virtual personal assistants, like Amazon Alexa or Apple Siri, could ask patients follow-up questions at home.

The 2.5 million Americans working in warehouses or moving companies have more to worry about in the short-term, according to the research firm, because advanced computer vision algorithms have already enabled robots to do a lot of this work.

Endowing software with better vision, natural language, and motor skills together are leading to an ever-more agile class of robots. And there is no shortage of investment in this area with companiesincluding Amazon ( amzn ) , Microsoft ( msft ) , Google ( goog ) , and Facebook ( fb ) all pouring billions into artificial intelligence research.

Related: Automation-Related Job Loss Could Make Universal Income a Reality

And tech advances that help robots better handle fragile items means more will be deployed going forward. Generally speaking, jobs that are highly repetitive are most at risk of being automated.

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These Jobs Are Safer From Automation Than We Thought - Fortune

By BVR Mohan Reddy

Of late, the media have been highlighting job losses in the IT industry and painting a gloomy picture ahead. Given the technology-driven nature of this sector, job roles constantly evolve. This means the workforce is on a perennial learning curve. Maintaining reasonable performance standards, along with upskilling and reskilling, is essential to sustain and survive in such a business environment.

Digital technology is everywhere today. Applications are used across a range of industries. So, the need for a skilled workforce in the emerging technologies will continue to rise, even as some of the existing ones need to fade away.

Like any other industry that strives to be competitive, the IT industry also goes through performance-linked workforce realignments annually. This results in attrition of 0.5-2% of the workforce.

This is healthy and ensures that the industry remains a lean, mean, fighting machine by reducing inefficiencies and remaining globally competitive. Mind you, these separations are performance-linked, not layoffs.

There is no denying, however, that automation is nibbling away new recruitments. The IT industry is, indeed, hiring a shade lower than what has traditionally been the norm. The fact of the matter is that technology-led automation is no more an option but a necessity. But as a recent McKinsey study reveals, for every one million existing jobs that fall under the scythe of automation in the future, 1.9 million jobs will be created in the same timeframe.

Bye-bye old days

Beyond performance-based separations and automation, there are also issues including geopolitical shifts, disruptive technologies and new skill sets. Which is what makes rapid technology shifts, and the accompanying need for a workforce to arm itself with new skills, more challenging.

Emerging technologies like the Internet of Things, virtual reality, big data analytics, artificial intelligence (AI), robotic process automation, 3D printing and cloud computing have brought disruption to many industries. The IT industry is also going through similar disruptions where digital technologies are helping to create newer roles where automation becomes the norm for lowend, repetitive jobs.

On the flip side, this leads to better-paid jobs. Technology disruption is also forcing people to acquire multidisciplinary skills. Some examples of newly emerged job roles: visual effects (VFX) artist, computer vision engineer, wireless network specialist, AI researcher, robotic process automation (RPA) developer, cloud architect, 3D engineer, language processing specialist and cyber security analyst.

For most of these job roles, there is a shortage of skills in the market. The new workforce needs to get trained in these technologies and add them to their professional arsenal.

A recent study concluded that only 25% of fresh engineering graduates in India are actually employable by any technology company. At the same time, a Nasscom study reckoned that 40% of the 3.7-million-strong IT workforce requires reskilling over the next five yearsto keep pace with emerging technologies and automation. To address the former challenge, the engineering curriculum and quality of education have to be significantly upgraded.

To manage the latter, Nasscom is already working with many IT companies to reskill nearly a million people. Technology is making it possible to learn anytime from anywhere. Industry has started adopting next-gen learning methodologies like gamification, flipped learning and augmented and mixed reality. New ideas and thoughts, like networked learning for instantaneous and contextual suggestions from peers, are being adopted to create a highly skilled and competitive workforce.

While fresh graduates are picking up skills based on industry requirements, professionals with management profiles are also shifting towards product management. Employees with more than five years of experience, like project managers and mid-level executives, are taking up courses on machine learning, AI, micro service architectures and user interface/user experience. Indias IT industry has come a long way in creating a global technology brand.

Along with the spice and diamond trades, IT has been the most successful industry in the countrys history. The industry will reinvent itself it is reinventing itself and one must recognise that side of the story.

IT has been a cornerstone to the growth and prosperity of Indias middle class. And it will continue to help expand that base. By 2025, the IT industry is expected to double its employee strength to over seven million people directly, and over 10 million indirectly.

A strong focus on skill development will help India walk through this tricky journey of digital transformation, so as to reach the destination of an increasing number of better-paid jobs that require more high-end skills. Which, in turn, will lift Indias IT Industrial Revolution 2.0 boat out of any low-end conveyor belt production line sea.

DISCLAIMER : Views expressed above are the author's own.

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Automation a necessity and may be a blessing in disguise - Economic Times (blog)

Automation can help data center managers maintain control over infrastructure they cant support around the clock in-person. (Photo: Rich Miller)

In this weeksVoices of the Industry,Jeff Klaus, GM of Data Center Software Solutions at Intel DCM, explores where tolook for automation opportunities in the data center.

The promise of automation looms large over many industries in 2017. For many data center managers and IT professionals, automation has already been a major asset to their day-to-day lives. For others, automation remains an untapped resource for increasing IT efficiency and infrastructure capabilities. Regardless of where your data center team may be along the spectrum, below are some best practices for implementing or continuing your automation strategy within the data center.

Jeff Klaus, GM of Data Center Software Solutions at Intel DCM

Making the switch from manual to automated tasks doesnt have to happen overnight, and its unlikely that 100% of your processes within the data center will all be automated. Start with concentrated segments of your infrastructure that are simple to establish and likely to yield the largest time or cost-savings. Theres always room to expand, but if done incorrectly at the start, tasks that were supposed to be automated now turn into massive manual time sinks that put the entire IT team on their back foot.

For teams that have already begun implementing automated processes, do you have an accurate, holistic picture of how its going? Press pause to evaluate where early investments have seen a positive return and think strategically about how to build out this offering to other segments of your infrastructure that make the most sense.

As data centers continue to sprawl across the world, IT teams bear the brunt of these expansion efforts. Automation has one of its best use cases in this setting improving times for new servers to be deployed, configuring that hardware with the existing network, expediting software installation, and more.

Automation can also help data center managers maintain control over infrastructure they cant support around the clock in-person. As the sever sprawl continues to increase and data centers sprout up to meet the demand for more storage, computing power and higher traffic capacities, the ability for a data center manager to manage various data centers remotely is becoming increasingly important.

That wonderful IT team we keep bragging about performance? In reality, human error is inevitable especially when it comes to rudimentary or repetitive tasks that require lower attention to detail and leave the door open for oversights. Automation can help mitigate these mistakes, reduce large-scale outages, and free technicians to address higher priority items on the docket.

Whether youre just starting or well into your automation transition, take the time to engage with your teams and solicit feedback about these changes. Understand where inefficient processes and time-intensive tasks are watering down manpower that could be better spent elsewhere. Determine a realistic starting point or additions to current automation capabilities with input from your team in the trenches. The best implementations of any new program those where buy in happens across the team ensuring not only utilization but also consistency across the organization. After all, the IT and data center team overseeing the data center is the group with the best understanding of how these systems operate on a day-to-day basis.

Automation is poised to explode across a variety of industries and data center infrastructure management is certainly one of those areas. Enterprises across the globe have already begin to master basic automation projects, look for more complex, robust systems and tasks with the ultimate goal of passing the torch from the hands of IT professionals and data center managers over to automation. The human touch and intervention is still a vital component of successful data center management, and will always be a necessary component to maintaining any data center environment but automation opportunities in the data center offer clear benefits that will continue to be wielded by the frontrunners of DCIM.

How is your team implementing automation within your data center environment?

Jeff Klaus is the GM of Data Center Software Solutions at Intel DCM.

Our Voice of the Industry feature showcases guest articles on thought leadership from sponsors of Data Center Frontier. For more information, see our Voices of the Industry description and guidelines..

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When and Where to Look For Automation Opportunities in the Data Center - Data Center Frontier (blog)

The idea that factories will be run by robots in five years is bullshit, according to outgoing General Electric CEO Jeff Immelt.

It will probably take at least six or seven years.

Joking aside, Immelt has joined Alphabet Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt in dispelling rumors of total automation.

Humans and computers must work togethernot in oppositionto be more productive, Schmidt argued at last weeks VivaTech convention in Paris.

As reported by CNBC, the former Google chief cited a study suggesting 90 percent of jobs are not fully automatable; while some routine tasks may be mechanized, humans are still indispensable.

So what that tells me is that your future is you with a computer, not you replaced by a computer, Schmidt said.

Convinced there will be a shortage of jobs; the exec implored businesses to fill positions with people plus computers.

The computers will make people smarter, he continued. If you make the people smarter, their wages go up. And the number of jobs go up, not down.

Schmidts theory is contrary to data released last month by MIT and Boston University: Researchers discovered that an increase in automation tends to negatively impact local employment.

Just how likely are you to get the boot from your boss? Ask Web-based tool Will Robots Take My Job? The site is based on a 2013 report examining how susceptible 702 occupations are to computerization.

According to our estimates, about 47 percent of total US employment is at risk, developers said four years ago.

Immelt, however, takes this news with a grain of salt, calling bullshit on fears that grinning robots will soon be handing out pink slips to human workers.

Theres 330,000 people that work for GE, and none of them had a productive day yesterday, none of them had a completely productive day, Immelt told the VivaTech crowd.

So my own belief is that when it comes to digital tools and things like that, that first part of the revolution, is going to be to make your existing workforce productive, he said last week, according to CNBC.

Thinking about a career change? This might be the right time to hang up the whistles (sports officials), put away the energy boards (manicurists/pedicurists), and return the uniform (waiters) in favor of something more secure.

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GE CEO Calls BS on Job Automation Fears - Geek

Cisco will next week reveal something called Project Starship that it promises will allow greater and easier automation of UCS servers and its HyperFlex hyperconverged appliances, no matter if they run in the data centre, remote office or a small business.

Details are scarce at the time of writing, but next week's Cisco Live! gabfest includes a session titled Cisco UCS: The Road to Full-Potential Automation in which Switchzilla promises to share our outlook and strategic plans for the next levels of data center automation.

In a colossal non-surprise, Cisco reckons that Predictive analytics and autonomous capabilities create new opportunities for AI assisted operations in IT and promises architecture and roadmap information on how it will address those opportunities.

The company also describes Starship as next-generation cloud-based management for UCS and HyperFlex that delivers faster deployment, simplified operations and richer analytics that are especially powerful in a multi-site Edge environments.

The edge is important because ahead of next week's Starship ride Cisco's slipped out news of some new HyperFlex appliances intended for use in remote offices.

The new HX220c nodes pack a pair of E5-2600 v4 Xeons, can be equipped with up to 1.5TB of RAM and house half a dozen disk drives, either 1.2TB spinning rust or 3.8TB SSD. There's a vanilla appliance and an all-flash affair.

Cisco expects you'll run vSphere on the appliances and has provided a pair of FlexFlash SD cards to boot it from. Connectivity comes from 2 x 10 Gigabit Ethernet and Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FcoE), plus native Fibre Channel fabric to each node with 2 x 80-Gbps networking available.

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Cisco to reveal 'Starship' ride to cloudy server automation heaven - The Register

Honeywell (NYSE: HON) Process Solutions (HPS) today announced the introduction of LEAP for Operations, a program that utilizes the innovative and proven LEAP project execution methodology to help customers optimize, simplify and run ongoing industrial operations more efficiently. LEAP for Operations includes a variety of solutions with a flexible deployment strategy to get more value out of plant processes. HPS made the announcement at its annual Honeywell Users Group symposium. With companies in the process industries under increasing pressure to show return on investment earlier on automation projects, they are emphasizing the efficiency of operating expenses (OPEX) and their longer-term impact. Honeywell can resolve the complexities of todays industrial operations with LEAP methodology that applies efficiency to ongoing operations through edge device integration, cloud-enabled execution, and universal and connected assets. LEAP for Operations helps our customers take operational intelligence to the next level, said John Rudolph, vice president and general manager, HPS Projects and Automation Solutions. This program enables plant engineers to continue to use the LEAP principles to run their facility more efficiently, squeeze more out of the assets they have, and avoid major capital expansions. It provides a step change in productivity and throughput once an automation project is implemented. Honeywell is uniquely positioned to support customers throughout the entire lifecycle of an industrial facility. The companys focused new product development programs have expanded its capability to address more project and operational challenges in both brownfield and greenfield applications. Before evolving the LEAP methodology to include operations, LEAP for projects began with lean execution techniques to eliminate waste by removing repetition, rework, and redundant tasks. Honeywell revolutionized automation project execution by extending this approach through simplification with independent workflows, standardized design, and enabling engineering to be done from anywhere in the world. This keeps automation off the critical path. While a growing number of plant owners/operators are embracing technology advancements that are driving value in connectivity, the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), Industrie 4.0, and smart solutions, cyber security remains a concern for many. Honeywells holistic solutions in support of LEAP for Operations include not only automated documentation, collaboration tools, integrated controllers, advanced alarm management, real-time analytics, proactive asset management, but also cloud-based execution with built-in cyber security. Its certified development process ensures end users get cyber security right out of the box. Honeywell keeps control systems updated, provides management of change, offers up-to-date security and patches, simplifies troubleshooting and collaboration, and excels at field and control integration.

For more information, click here

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HONEYWELL SOLUTION HELPS CUSTOMERS OVERCOME AUTOMATION LIFECYCLE AND EFFICIENCY ... - Automation World

Let me get this out of the way: Im a technology geek and a marketing aficionado. I adore working with marketing automation to drive business. The bright thrill of success bubbles over when various marketing technologies are stacked together to improve the user experience and boost engagement that results in sales.

Nothing is better than building the digital pathway. For example, consider a lead who visits a well-designed Drupal web page and submits a form. Data runs directly to a marketing automation tool like Eloqua. Eloqua then engages with the lead through a variety of processes and sends pertinent information to Salesforce.Using Salesforce, the sales team can see who they should contact to close the sale.

My affinity for marketing automation is validated. Its the wave of the future. In fact, it continues to be one of the fastest-growing technologies in the marketing stack, according to Aberdeen Group.

And it works. A June 2016 survey highlighted that email one of the core uses for marketing automation had a median ROI of 122 percent, more than four times higher than other marketing formats examined.

But alas, marketing automation is not the only component of a marketing mix that effectively generates and converts leads to buyers.There are other non-digital options that, to a marketing automation disciple, are frightening.

Two shining stars that are on the rise for marketing effectiveness are direct mail and in-person events.Both techniques have greater longevity than marketing automation, and they have both evolved in order to remain valuable.

But how can these analog tactics be effective in a world where digital usage is on the rise?Without technology to pave the way, how can lead engagements be managed?

Below is a brief description of these tactics the how and why they produce successful results is included as a guidepost for digital junkies like me who want to begin taking advantage of these more tangible options in the marketing mix.

Known for high ROI results, in-person events deliver the opportunity for non-directive, face-to-face interaction and experience-sharing, helping to generate net-new leads.They are also key to escorting existing buyers through multiple stages of the funnel, recycling old buyers and delivering qualified, sales-ready leads.

These four tips from industry experts will ensure event participation produces results:

Direct mail is actually on the upswing. In 2016, customer response rates increased 43 percent year over year, and prospect response rates rose 190 percent.

Direct mail, which provides a tangible medium through which leads can engage, helps shift the brain into a deeper level of engagement while building knowledge. Strong engagement and conversion rates are the results.

Even better, direct mail avoids many of the challenges of the digital world like (email) sender reputation, spam traps, bounce rates or IP-blocking.

While it evolved from spraying a batch of postcards to everyone, direct mail is now highly customized for the intended target (thanks to the digital world!).Forbes Summer Gould provides these four tips for customizing and engaging leads:

Yes, neither direct mail nor in-person events are digital-based.And maybe thats the point.

However, all is not lost for this marketing automation junkie. After all, marketing automation and other digital tools escalate the impact of direct mail and in-person events.

Marketing automation powers the invitations that drive attendees to in-person events.And it powers the follow-up communication that is a must to maintain the conversations started on the showroom floor.

Data from digital engagements provides the basis for direct mail campaigns to help you focus on a specific target.Not only does the data help with segmentation, but marketing automation enables you to personalize it in the online realm.

Though the trend for digital usage remains on the rise, we still live in a world of 360-degree interactions. And not all engagements can be managed by a marketing automation platform.

Some opinions expressed in this article may be those of a guest author and not necessarily MarTech Today. Staff authors are listed here.

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Confessions of a marketing automation addict - MarTech Today

If you think you've heard it all when it comes to new automation technologies -- artificial intelligence, advanced data analytics, chatbots powered by CRM machine learning -- you haven't. Robotics is next.

Simply put, CRM's flavor of software robotics encompasses chatbots, tools for back-end automation and even data collection tools that watch employees work. All have the ultimate goal of helping sales and service staff better serve customers, explains Pegasystems CTO Don Schuerman. The robotics push from Pega follows its 2016 acquisition of robotic process automation and workforce analytics software vendor OpenSpan.

Here's the dirty little secret. The vast majority of what everybody's really excited about with robotic automation are what we used to call macros.

"Here's the dirty little secret. The vast majority of what everybody's really excited about with robotic automation are what we used to call macros," Schuerman says. "They're elegant, [and] they're much more cloud-managed. You've got much more control over how you can use them and tie them into things like document recognition and text recognition -- but, at the end of the day, they're macros."

Robotics work invisibly in the background, and employees only see the result, such as a prompt in the CRM system suggesting they make a certain offer at a certain juncture in a customer conversation. In other cases, software robots might simply collect data and utilize cloud analytics systems to identify manual processes employees are undertaking that are ripe for automation.

In this podcast interview, we delve deep into this topic, as well as other observations and CRM implementation trends from the floor of the PegaWorld 2017 user conference in Las Vegas. Among them -- how AI and CRM machine learning will help cut down on companies over-communicating with customers, saving time for both the customer and the company.

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CRM machine learning leaps forward, assisting process automation - TechTarget

By Paula Zamudio | June 21, 2017 | 12:05 p.m.

According to a 2016 survey, home automation such as home entry notifications and video monitoring is gaining in popularity among parents. Today, nearly one in four parents either uses a home automation system or plans to within one year.

The use of technology has become so prevalent that parents prefer using it to check on whats happening at home, rather than friends or neighbors. According to survey results, 73 percent of parents rely on texting to check in with teens and tweens who are home alone at least once or twice a month; 71 percent rely on phone calls, and only 18 percent rely on a friend or neighbor.

Home automation provides dependable, real-time, unfiltered information about whats happening at home.

For parents, it can provide peace of mind, especially during the summer months when kids are home alone. Parents may not realize the extent to which they are able to automate their home.

With Cox Homelife you are able to:

Lock and unlock doors from a keypad or mobile app

Detect carbon monoxide and smoke

See whats happening at home even when you are not there using secure video monitoring via a smart phone

Take a picture when the front door opens, or send a text message if the door does not open between certain times you expect your child to come home

Turn off small appliances remotely

Arm and disarm your system remotely

Turn lights on and off remotely

According to those surveyed, certain technologies are considered must haves for smart home technology:

Emergency alert, 89 percent

Home alarm control, 84 percent

Entry and lock control, 81 percent

Furthermore, four out of five parents surveyed are comfortable leaving teens and tweens home alone, and technology helps ease concerns.

Home automation isnt just for busy parents. Frequent travelers, pet lovers, energy-conscious consumers and budget managers will all find technology brings cost savings, peace of mind, remote monitoring and much more.

Click here for more information about Cox Homelife.

Paula Zamudio is a media and public relations specialist with Cox Communications.

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Home Automation Trend Clicks with More and More Consumers - Noozhawk

Some have suggested that automation can relieve crews from having to deal with routine tasks to ease their workday, and thanks to the data generation and advanced computational capabilities of the newest generation of aircraft, more options for task automation are emerging.

Photo: Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images

Like most prescription drugs, the remedy sometimes has unexpected side effects. So it is for automation, when applied as a solution to aviations ongoing problem of crew fatigue. While artificial intelligence, machine learning, and advanced analytics hold much promise for task automation on aircraft, airlines may want to coordinate any automation efforts with state-of-the-art crew fatigue management plans for the best results.

The risk of crew fatigue persists for airlines, despite the 2013 flight-time regulations known as FAR 117 from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration. The rules incorporated the latest in fatigue science, but similar rules have yet to be adopted worldwide, and the science of fatigue management itself has continued to advance.

Fatigue is not just about being tired; sleep will remedy being tired. Fatigue is cumulative, the product of an incomplete recovery from days of insufficient sleep. It affects people who consistently work long hours under stressful conditions, and for aviation, its consequences include declining health and productivity of flight crews, rising staff attrition and safety concerns.

Some have suggested that automation can relieve crews from having to deal with routine tasks to ease their workday, and thanks to the data generation and advanced computational capabilities of the newest generation of aircraft, more options for task automation are emerging.

While airplanes have long been able to fly on autopilot, researchers are now testing resilient machine-learning-based autopilot systems that can adapt to changing conditions and even crises. These systems learn from experienced pilots how to react to situations, rather than having to be explicitly hard coded with instructions for every conceivable circumstance.

Ultimately, technology is likely to evolve over time to the point where one cockpit crew member is able to handle a sizable chunk of a flight, with automation as the co-pilota potential boon given the anticipated pilot shortage. Eventually, a remote pilot on the ground could take the second cockpit seat on some flights or flight segments. But those advances are many years off.

Among other future automation possibilities are artificial-intelligence-based weather and radar monitoring that allows pilots to see a more complete picture of the weather ahead without consulting several different monitoring systems and electronic stability and protection systems that monitor and maintain the altitude of an airplane even when autopilot is off. Also being tested are virtual assistants that use speech recognition and voice commands to alert crew members of cockpit tasks that need to be completed.

Of course, technology is even tackling the fatigue question with the development of machines that monitor fatigue and adjust the level of automation to ensure sufficient crew engagement. For instance, the trucking industry already uses a system to monitor eye and eyelid movements of drivers to ensure they are alert.

Still, automation is not a panacea and may introduce unexpected risks. Research suggests that reducing or eliminating the stimulation of manual tasks may slow reaction times and bring other fatigue symptoms to the fore. One danger is the phenomenon of microsleepingmoments when part of your brain goes offline, so to speak, while other parts may remain in wake mode. The phenomenon has been identified as a frequent cause of automobile accidents.

The smart way to incorporate automation is by developing a long-term crew fatigue strategy that recognizes automations risks as well as its rewards. A robust fatigue management strategy includes conducting a detailed assessment of fatigue causes; correlating data on actual duty times and activities with fatigue reporting; gathering crew feedback through interviews; and developing a fatigue risk management system that focuses first and foremost on fatigue prevention.

A big part of prevention is developing realistic and resilient crew schedules that incorporate the latest in fatigue science and accurately reflect the challenging operational environment. FAR 117 has gone a long way to begin that process, but in some cases, regulations have fallen short on addressing the full spectrum of issues that lead to fatigue.

While rules exist that govern how many hours crews can work (and how often they can work overtime), regulations vary by geographic market, and limits on flight duty periods do not always take into account more qualitative factors, such as tough routes, cumulative schedule intensity (such as during the busy summer travel season), and the impact of standby duty.

Before making decisions on task automation, it is important to determine which phases of flight present higher risks for fatigue. And, for days when things dont go as planned, standard protocols need to include enough emphasis on crew fatigue and the impact of the disruption on crews.

As airlines adopt technology to collect and analyze the reams of technical flight and equipment data being generated, they have an opportunity to incorporate into those new systems capabilities to gather more information on human factors that could provide greater insights into fatigue.

No doubt, this is a tricky balancing act for both airlines and regulators. Still, the payoff for good fatigue management coupled with cautious adoption of AI systems can be substantialexcellent safety records, higher crew productivity, and happier customers.

URL: http://www.brinknews.com/will-automation-solve-the-ongoing-risk-of-aviation-crew-fatigue/

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Will Automation Solve the Ongoing Risk of Aviation Crew Fatigue? - BRINK

Moneycontrol News

With the threat of automation looming over the job market, many employees are looking to upskill themselves in order to keep themselves from getting the pink slips. As bots start doing humans' work and skill sets get redundant, online certification and courses can help employees stay up to date with technology.

Started in 2010, Intellipaat is a platform that provides online e-learning courses on big data, business intelligence, data science, cloud and business courses like Hadoop, building recommendation engine,python and many more.

Sharing his e-learning experience, ISS Softech employee Nitesh Kumar Dash, said, I had applied for a combination of courses including Big Data and Hadoop, which helped me get a Big Data job at my firm. Usually, people with a lot of experience are hired for such jobs but I got the opportunity with 2.5 years experience due to the online course.

Looking at the positiveside of automation, Dinesh Goel, CEO & Co-Founder of Aasaanjobs says, Automation has been revolutionary for the tech industry and its not just taking away jobs but generating new ones. Only way this opportunity can be grabbed, should the employees decide to upskill themselves in the technologies they work in.

He added that automation has caused the collaboration of artificial intelligence (AI) and big data and has started to give machines more human-like abilities to reason and to solve many new types of problems.

Big data is an area, which is going to boom in the coming years and employees who are prepared will reap the benefits, he added.

According to a KPMG report, Indias online education market is set to grow to USD 1.96 billion and around 9.6 million users by 2021 from USD 247 million and around 1.6 million users in 2016.

The report adds that reskilling and online certification courses currently account for a significant part of the online education market in the country with a share of 38 percent. This is largely driven by a healthy adoption rate amongst the significant population of IT professionals in India.

Apart from e-learning, education technology firms are also providing placements. Dash, who found out about Intellipaat through Quora said the platform also provides job support.

These edtech companies rope in industry veterans to impart knowledge about the new technology. Intellipaat has more than 600 trainers on board who are freelancers and have been working in the industry for a long time.

Reiterating the automation threat, Goel says it had a tremendous impact on the IT sector with Cognizant Chennai laying off 6000-10,000 odd and Wipro and Infosys laying off about 56,000 employees in this fiscal year.

Hiring process for 2017 is likely to be slow with IT majors expected to cut by 40 percent of the engineering graduates they had planned to hire, he added.

Due to the fear of losing jobs, more and more people are opting for e-learning courses. Online reskilling continues to be in demand as employees see them as a ticket to retention and professional growth.

Talking to Moneycontrol, Intellipaat founder Diwakar Chittora said that the company saw 15-20 percent jump in the last 1-2 months in people asking to upskill. From 600 learners in 2013, the company now has about 4 lakh people on board who are opting for e-learning courses.

Chittora added that corporates are also focusing on upskilling their workforce. In the initial days of our operations, we had received a call from telecommunications equipment company Ericsson asking to provide training to 60 people.

Moving ahead, the edtech firm added companies like Genpact, Sony, CISCO, TCS, Wipro, and Tata Communications among others in its kitty.

To keep pace with technological transformations, employees are investing in learning these new-age skills. On Intellipaats platform, the cost of these courses range from Rs 5,000, which goes up to Rs 25,000.

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As automation threatens job market, employees opt for e-learning courses to upskill - Moneycontrol.com

Israels labor force is undergoing a modernization process with fewer workers at risk of losing their jobs due to automation, according to a study by the Taub Center For Social Policy Studies in Israel.

The study examined the dangers posed by automation to the workforce as the nation moves from a traditional economy driven by manufacturing and production to an information technology and services economy, where high-tech and services are the major growth engines.

As a result of the market increasingly demanding high-skilled workers, the share of those whose jobs are highly vulnerable to automation went down between 2013 and 2015, the period covered by the study. However, this is less true for Arab Israelis and immigrants than for the native-born Jewish working population.

The study finds that the relative portion of workers in low-risk occupations has risen, while the share of workers in high-risk occupations has declined evidence of a continued labor force modernization process, the Taub Center said in a statement.

The findings of the study come as policy makers and business leaders in Israel convened for two days in Jerusalem, on Monday and Tuesday, to discuss the challenges automation poses to Israels labor market.

The former president of Intel in Israel, Mooly Eden, warned on Monday that the government was not doing enough to deal with the blow being inflicted on the labor market by automation.

Thanks to the likes of autonomous cars, chatbots and digital banking, he sees tens of thousands of people unemployed, he said. We can prepare for this, he said. But in my opinion we are completely unprepared.

The Taub study, by Prof. Claude Berrebi and Kyrill Shraberman, shows that changes among women were greater than among men with a significant drop in women employed in clerical work, indicating that these positions might have already undergone a process of automation as bank branches close, secretarial services become outsourced and offices computerize administrative tasks.

In the Arab Israeli sector the study shows a decline in the share of skilled workers in production and manufacturing considered at high risk from automation and a relatively strong rise in their share in sales and service as well as clerical work.

Women working in a matza factory (photo credit: Tsafrir Abayov/Flash90)

There was just a small change an increase of 1% in the share of Arab Israeli workers in occupations requiring an academic education. This is low relative to the Jewish population, which posted an increase of 1.9%. As a result, the average salary rise among Arab Israelis is also lower.

A possible reason for this is the relatively low skill level within the Arab Israeli sector: the share of those with high-level skills in reading comprehension and mathematics among Arab Israelis aged 16-64 is only 1%, versus 10-13% among the Jewish population, according to the OECDs PIAAC survey of adult competencies.

Among Jewish immigrants, there has been a rise in the share of unskilled workers and a smaller increase in the share of workers in academic professions, relative to long-time residents or the native-born. An exceptional rise in the share of unskilled workers (like cleaning and security workers) is seen among men ages 45-54 who came to Israel between 1990 and 1995. According to the researchers, the data point to the difficulties of integration among this adult male immigrant group who have been in Israel over a decade and have experienced difficulties adjusting to the modern labor market.

The major impediment to immigrant integration in the labor market is language issues Hebrew and sometimes English. Immigrants in general, and female immigrants in particular, are characterized by higher rates of academic education that do not match the local labor market. Thus, they often compromise by accepting employment in occupations that do not require an academic education. That said, immigrants are employed at slightly higher rates than Jewish long-time residents/native-born Israelis.

The study also examined to what degree a year of formal education improves hourly average salary, and found that since 2003 there has been an overall rise in return on education. This return encourages workers to get more education, and thus improves the quality and the skill level of the labor force.

But this rise also contributes to increasing wage gaps between workers. In 2014, the hourly salary for men with 18 years of schooling, equivalent to a masters degree, was 35% higher than for those with 12 years of schooling equivalent to a high school diploma.

This gap was higher for women at 41%. But for Arab men the return on education declined between 2011 and 2014, as the rise in wages over those years for Arab Israeli men was more moderate than among the general male population. Among immigrant men, there was also a rise in return on education, although the gaps remained lower than among the general male population, the study showed. Wage gaps between immigrants with 18 years of schooling and those 12 years of schooling were 22% in 2014.

The Taub Center for Social Policy Studies in Israel is an independent, nonpartisan socioeconomic research institute.

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Israeli workers get more skilled as automation looms, study says - The Times of Israel

special feature

AI, Automation, and Tech Jobs

There are some things that machines are simply better at doing than humans, but humans still have plenty going for them. Here's a look at how the two are going to work in concert to deliver a more powerful future for IT, and the human race.

The emergence of technology such as robotic process automation (RPA) doesn't necessarily lead to the loss of jobs, but to the elimination of certain tasks. What human workers do as automated programs take over some of these tasks might be largely up to them.

"Not every employee will adapt and innovate, but we believe most will," said Stanton Jones, director and principal analyst at technology research and advisory firm ISG. "Those that do adapt will go in two directions: one group will focus on becoming more productive by doing more of the same kind of work they did in the past with the assistance of digital labor. The other will move on to more value-added activities."

ISG is primarily seeing a focus on productivity improvements. But as companies get more comfortable with "digital labor," they will start to rethink their operating model.

With the assistance of digital labor that is constantly improving with each subsequent customer interaction, customer-focused employees such as those in call centers will be freed up to proactively reach out to clients when problems occur, or to prevent them in the first place, Jones said.

For example, in a telecommunications call center, an employee that typically handled incoming complaints can proactively reach out to a customer that dropped a call and offer them a discount for that month. Or, a help desk employee can proactively reach out to an executive letting him know that his hard drive is about to fail.

"In each of these cases, the human employee is improving their interaction with the customer because the virtual agent is improving as well," Jones said.

A number of organizations are starting to build automation centers of excellence, Jones said. "These are small teams that use agile approaches to identify, build, and implement automation throughout the company," he said.

Very few companies are focused on automating jobs. "Instead, they are focused on automating tasks and improving productivity," Jones said.

History shows that as automation increases, things get cheaper, and as things get cheaper, more people buy them, Jones said. "We believe the same thing will happen as automation and AI (artificial intelligence) moves into the enterprise. The products and services these companies create will, for the most part, become cheaper because the cost of the delivering them is going down."

Will some IT and business support employees lose their job due to automation? "Yes, but we believe this will be limited for now," Jones said. "The key is that over the long term, there will less routine jobs available."

A majority of IT and business leaders have indicated to ISG that avoiding long-term costs is an important outcome of automation and AI. "So while automation will reduce unit costs, and therefore create more buying opportunity for end customers, it will also mean that people that are focused on routine work will find less and less of those types of jobs available to them over time," Jones said.

IT is likely to be the corporate support function that will be most impacted by automation and AI.

"But this also creates opportunity," Jones said. "IT is in by far the best position to drive automation and AI into the firm. IT has the best experience with agile development and systems integration, and almost always has the best view into how business processes use technology. So, as long as the entry-level job is focused on agile, process design, change management, data science, or software engineering -- in support of the further automation of tasks within the firm -- it's a great place to be."

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Automation will take over IT tasks, not jobs | ZDNet - ZDNet

Forbes

Marketers: Check Out These Hot New Trends In B2B Marketing ... Forbes Throughout the past couple of years in my consulting practice, I've seen the market for marketing automation appear, develop, and completely change the face ... and more »

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Marketers: Check Out These Hot New Trends In B2B Marketing ... - Forbes

Quartz

It's not just the US: Chinese factories are turning to automation as wages rise Quartz As US president Trump has made bringing jobs back to America a rallying cry, others have pointed out that even the factories that stay are, thanks to automation technology, getting more work done with fewer people. According to a new survey, the same ...

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It's not just the US: Chinese factories are turning to automation as wages rise - Quartz

Automation key to personalized customer experiences SmartBrief Automation is a key way of achieving personalization at scale. Not only does it allow brands to simplify order processes and tracking, it can make it possible for customer service professionals to easily look up all relevant past data when interacting ...

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Automation key to personalized customer experiences - SmartBrief

The latest edition of MarTech Todays B2B Marketing Automation Platforms: A Marketers Guide examines the market for B2B marketing automation software platforms and the considerations involved in implementing this software into your business.

This 44-page report is your source for the latest trends, opportunities and challenges facing the market for B2B marketing automation software tools as seen by industry leaders, vendors and their customers.

Included in the report are profiles of 14 leading B2B marketing automation vendors, pricing charts, capabilities comparisons and recommended steps for evaluating and purchasing.

If you are a B2B marketer looking to adopt a marketing automation software platform, this report will help you through the decision-making process. Visit Digital Marketing Depot to download B2B Marketing Automation Platforms: A Marketers Guide.

The 14 vendors profiled in this report represent some of the choices available for B2B marketing automation platforms; they are not a comprehensive list of B2B marketing automation vendors. This report is not a recommendation of any marketing automation platform or company, and is not meant to be an endorsement of any particular product, service or vendor.

This report was prepared by conducting in-depth interviews with leading vendors and industry experts in December 2016 and January 2017. These, in addition to third-party research, form the basis for this report.

This research report is sponsored by Salesforce, Marketo, IBM and Salesfusion.

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Report: 14 marketing automation vendors profiled updated for 2017 - MarTech Today

Forbes

When Combating Crew Fatigue, Automation Has Its Rewards And Risks Forbes In 2013 the US Federal Aviation Administration introduced new regulations for aviation crew flight time and duty time, known as FAR 117. While those changes incorporated the latest in fatigue science up to that point, similar rules have not been ...

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When Combating Crew Fatigue, Automation Has Its Rewards And Risks - Forbes

"Data-Driven Thinking" is written by members of the media community and contains fresh ideas on the digital revolution in media.

Todays column is written by Dennis Buchheim, senior vice president of data and ad effectiveness at the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and general manager of theIAB Data Center of Excellence.

Soon, truckers may be out of a job. Why? Automation. Factory work continues to dwindle, again, because of automation. Artificial intelligence, the driver du jour of high valuations in tech, is all about you guessed it enhancing automation.

Already this year, the Harvard Business Review has published more than a dozen articles related to the topic. Automation is a global force across all industries, and its being wrestled with at the highest and lowest echelons of organizations and society in general.

But we in advertising dont talk about automation. Instead, we use the word programmatic, an increasingly ambiguous industry term that cant hold the weight of the conversations that need to be had. Now dont get me wrong: Jargon can be OK. Every industry has it. But any language we choose to use must enable rather than disable communication. And in this case, its beginning to hurt.

A semantic and contextual shift is necessary. To achieve new levels of efficiency and effectiveness, digital advertising leaders need a new lens through which to perceive and discuss the massive changes going on in their companies because of, yes, automation.

The term programmatic originated years ago to describe elements of digital advertising campaigns performed by software. The word was generally used to distinguish transactions executed by machines, especially via real-time bidding, from those negotiated and executed by flesh-and-blood salespeople and media buyers. At first, the word was apt. But times have changed.

The rapid evolution and extensive adoption of data-fueled technology has pushed us into a post-programmatic world. Today, partially or wholly machine-driven processes are woven throughout the entire digital advertising supply chain. We need to talk in depth about automation across not only transactions but also planning, creative development, data management, decisioning, personalization, measurement, verification, optimization and more. This is all more far-reaching and complicated than the original notion of programmatic advertising. And yet were still using the term and concept of programmatic. Its a vast oversimplification and cause of confusion.

Automation is a universally understood term that refers to all of the ways that technology is replacing or augmenting humans. Use of this term within advertising will force all of us to unpack whats been obscured by the idea of programmatic, and it will empower discussions about the role automation plays or could play in specific supply chain processes, as well as the utility that can be provided by technology and data relative to their costs and, most importantly, the value that can be created or destroyed by automation.

These conversations need to be had and can lead to a spectrum of benefits. The benefits notably include increased transparency and control related to tools, data, ad inventory, vendors and associated costs; more efficient and more effective advertising; and better consumer experiences. The industry has long tended to rush toward adopting automated technologies, but relying on zeros and ones instead of a person isnt always cheaper or faster and the black boxes that have developed between buyers and sellers often cause more cost than benefit.

Questions such as When does automation save time? and When doesnt it? and What is the optimal mix between humans and machines? need to be answered for each application of automation in a business.

Now, a change in language alone clearly cant resolve all of these open issues. But a shift in perspective toward the challenges and opportunities created by automation across the supply chain is the foundation of these explorations.

The digital advertising ecosystem has achieved a scale so gargantuan and personalized that humans cant do all of the driving. Its up to business leaders to determine when their teams should step on the gas, tap the brakes or even change lanes and when a machine should do this for them.

Follow the IAB (@iab) and AdExchanger (@adexchanger) on Twitter.

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Unpacking Programmatic: How Automation Impacts The Digital ... - AdExchanger