Monthly Archives: March 2017

What do Americans fear more than flying, germs, or animals? Computers replacing people in the workforce. The 2016 Chapman University Survey on American Fears found 16 percent of respondents were afraid or very afraid of losing jobs to technology. And the generation thats grown up attached to a smartphone is even more concerned. An international 2016 Infosys survey of 16-to 25-year-olds found that 40 percent thought their current jobs could be replaced by some form of automation within a decade.

So just how worried should we be about being replaced by a robot?

Not very, according to Martin Fiore, Americas Tax Talent Leader for EY, the global professional services firm. Fiore believes we should look forward to working alongside robots, particularly young people starting their careers. EY is the number two hiring firm for U.S. college graduates.

Robots can free workers from mundane tasks, allowing them to provide purpose and value at a higher level, says Fiore. EY uses Robotic Process Automation (RPA) in its tax practice, which consists of bots, or software applications that handle repetitive, high-volume automated tasks.

Our people used to have to spend hours cutting and pasting, pulling together disparate pieces of information, says Fiore. Now they can start with that information and ask What does it mean for our client? Its a huge change.

Using this type of automation allows EY workers to focus on interpreting data as they work alongside a bot, according to Fiore. He says the bots havent cost any jobs at EY.

Weve taken the robot out of the human, says Fiore, by eliminating mundane and repetitive tasks. He says this is especially important for millennials, who want to make a difference early in their careers and apply what theyve learned in college more quickly.

This sounds great for an information worker who no longer has to slog through data, but what about other industries? Momentum Machines has developed a robot that creates 400 made-to-order hamburgers in an hour without any help from humans. A 2015 Ball State University report found that almost 88 percent of job losses in manufacturing in recent years could be attributed to enhanced productivity because of automation. Can we expect more jobs to disappear as robots become cheaper and smarter?

It depends on who you ask. A 2016 Oxford University report found that 47 percent of U.S. jobs are at risk of being lost to automation over the next two decades.

But a 2016 McKinsey Global Institute report concluded that fewer than five percent of careers can be completely automated using existing technology. However, the report found about half of work activities could potentially be done by a machine. Data collection and processing and predictable physical work are the activities most likely to be automated.

Perhaps the most likely scenario is that many of us will end up working alongside robotic technology, like EYs tax practitioners, rather than being kicked to the curb by them. For example, Fiore says a robot could lay bricks while a human being directs its work.

Nearly two-thirds of Americans are already using a digital assistant or some form of robotic technology, according to Loop Intelligence. A Roomba cleaning the kitchen floor has become routine for many of us, frightening only the cat.

But even as we become more reliant on Siri and Alexa in our personal lives, accepting more automation at work wont be easy. Companies that invest in robotic technology will have to work hard to manage the people side of change. Workers worried about losing their jobs may have to learn new skills. For example, Momentum Machines, the maker of the burger bot, posted a job ad for a restaurant generalist who can troubleshoot softwarequite a different skill from whats normally expected of fast food workers.

If you look at whats ahead, youre either going to be disrupted, or get in front of the disruption, says Fiore. He says the best way to prepare workers for robotic technology is to help them understand how it will benefit themimproving the quality of their work, reducing mundane tasks, and giving them the time to provide purpose and value at a higher level.

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Taking the robot out of the human - Huffington Post

The Amur tiger left apond and lazily walked up a ramp to the catwalk, putting himself 12 feet above the onlooking crowd. People who were taking photos yelped and scurried away as water and perhaps something else raineddown.

The incident sparked jokes for rest of Wednesdays preview of the Denver Zoos new Edge Exhibit, which needs only a few finishing touches before it opens to the public March 17 such as a sign reminding people to look up.

Joe Amon, The Denver Post

Nikolai one of 3 Amur (Siberian) Tiger's in the new enclosure shows his teeth during a huge yawn as the Denver Zoo unveiled its new tiger exhibit, the Edge, March 8, 2017. It brings you closer to the tigers than ever before and it's nearly twice the size of the previous exhibit.

Joe Amon, The Denver Post

The Denver Zoo unveiled its new tiger exhibit, the Edge March 8, 2017. It's nearly twice the size of the previous exhibit.

Joe Amon, The Denver Post

Nikita one of 3 Amur (Siberian) Tiger's in the new enclosure with large windows as the Denver Zoo unveiled its new tiger exhibit, the Edge March 8, 2017. It brings you closer to the tigers than ever before and it's nearly twice the size of the previous exhibit.

Joe Amon, The Denver Post

Nikolai one of 3 Amur (Siberian) Tiger's in the new enclosure rolling after a short rest as the Denver Zoo unveiled its new tiger exhibit, the Edge March 8, 2017. It brings you closer to the tigers than ever before and it's nearly twice the size of the previous exhibit.

Joe Amon, The Denver Post

Metal panels designed to look like you're looking into the forest are filled with small holes. You are close enough to smell a tigers breath in the new enclosure as the Denver Zoo unveiled its new tiger exhibit, the Edge March 8, 2017. It brings you closer to the tigers than ever before and it's nearly twice the size of the previous exhibit.

Joe Amon, The Denver Post

Nikolai one of 3 Amur (Siberian) Tiger's in the new enclosure climbing down after a look from overhead as the Denver Zoo unveiled its new tiger exhibit, the Edge March 8, 2017. It brings you closer to the tigers than ever before and it's nearly twice the size of the previous exhibit.

Joe Amon, The Denver Post

Nikita one of 3 Amur (Siberian) Tiger's standing up for carnivore keeper Raejeann Eyeht in the new enclosure as the Denver Zoo unveiled its new tiger exhibit, the Edge March 8, 2017. It brings you closer to the tigers than ever before and it's nearly twice the size of the previous exhibit.

Joe Amon, The Denver Post

Nikolai one of 3 Amur (Siberian) Tiger's in the new enclosure watching as the Denver Zoo unveiled its new tiger exhibit, the Edge March 8, 2017. It brings you closer to the tigers than ever before and it's nearly twice the size of the previous exhibit.

We really wanted to give people a chance to get up close and experience the animal, Rebecca McCloskey, the zoos curator of primates and carnivores.

The new tiger exhibit has 18,200 square feet of outdoor space, including ponds, the catwalk, trees and toys, and is nearly double the size of the big cats former home. The exhibit took more than 2 years to create and roughly $2.2 million in Better Denver Bond funding from the City and County of Denver.

The exhibit has a large walk-in semicircle with windows that give the sense of being inside the enclosure with the animals. It also includes perforated metal walls so people can smell the tigers and potentially hear them chuff,the greeting noise tigers make, McCloskey said. The catwalk goes above the opening to the semicircle, allowing the cats to watch you while you watch them.

The exhibit is meant to showcase the animals athleticism and encourage their natural behaviors with logs for scratching, steps for jumping and ponds for light swimming. The catwalk lets them be up high, a position favored by the large animals. The cats behaviors indicate that they are enjoying their new environment, appearing more engaged, interested and active, McCloskey said.

My favorite part is that they have a lot of options to play and jump around and stuff, said Sophie Dawe, who is 5 years old and was wearing tiger ears and a tail. Also, they can, like, nap up there.

Sophie and her twin sister, Gwenyth, come to the zoo often and said the new tiger exhibit was their favorite part, calling the animals cool.

The zoo has three of the cool animals, brothers Nikolai and Thimbu (pronounced TIM-boo) as well as Nikita, who spent some time Wednesday morning using a tree to scratch her ear.

There are fewer than 400 Amur tigers in the wild, the cats trainer Kim Pike said. The cats used to be referred to as Siberian tigers, roaming the Russian Far East, northern China and the Korean peninsula. But as poaching and a loss of habitat threaten the species, they only remain in the Amur River area of the Russian Far East, sparking the name change. The World Wildlife Federation says they also are found in small pockets in the border areas of China and perhaps in North Korea.

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Human guests get first up-close peek at The Edge tiger exhibit at ... - The Denver Post

Laurie Abadie, Jamestown native who works in NASAs Human Research Program, visited the Martz Observatory to discuss with a full crowd the research and preparations in place to send humans to Mars. P-J photo by Jimmy McCarthy

FREWSBURG A round-trip to Mars would take three years. That means youre away from your family and friends.

Youd be in a confined and isolated environment and you would survive on nutrition made of freeze-dried food.

Youd be required to exercise every day for two hours just to maintain your bone and muscle strength.

Ready for the journey?

Laurie Abadie, Jamestown native and NASA human space flight specialist, visited the Martz Observatory on Wednesday evening to discuss to a full crowd how NASA is preparing the human body for a mission to Mars.

Abadie has spent over four years in NASAs Human Research Program. She currently works in a NASA office in Cleveland, and prior to that, she spent 10 years at the Johnson Space Center in mission control where she helped cargo ships that traveled to the space station.

What the Human Research Program is tasked with is figuring out all the risks associated with sending humans to space, she said. We basically fund the research both on the ground and in flight to help make sure we keep astronauts not only safe, but healthy to have a successful mission to Mars.

Abadie said the program is examining and researching risks, and one of the biggest ones theyre delving into is space radiation. Abadie said space radiation not only causes nausea and fatigue, but it can also impact memory and the ability to think clearly. The central nervous system can be damaged and theres higher risk for cardiac disease and cancer.

To address the risk, Abadie said NASA uses a unique facility in Long Island, the Brookhaven Lab, to test space radiation.

We test different materials.We test biological samples and cells, she said. We basically send different types of radiation at it to see what would be the best material for a space craft or habitat on Mars to protect the astronauts.

Abadie said the Human Research Program is also addressing issues related to isolation, alternate gravity fields and ensuring theres enough food and medical supplies for a three-year journey.

Abadie said isolation can lead to behavioral health problems with months of confinement in a capsule. As for changes in gravity fields, she said it could cause sickness and an inability to control muscles.

Challenges are still in the way to get humans to Mars, and Abadie said theyre working to mitigate them. Abadie said NASAs looking to make the journey when Earth and Mars are at their closest point. That translates to a six-month trip leaving Earth to reach Mars.

Everything is working to a presence on Mars, she said. To get humans on Mars, we wanted to look for water. We found it and now we want to figure out wheres the best place on Mars to live, is there any life on Mars and basically how well get there.

Abadie was born and raised in Jamestown. She attended the University of Buffalo for undergraduate school where she majored in aerospace engineering.

During her junior year, she applied and was accepted to a cooperative education position at NASA Jobs and Space Center in Houston. She alternated semesters between UB and in Houston working for NASA.

Abadie continued her education and applied for the NASA Fellowship Program, which paid for her graduate school expenses while guaranteeing a job after. She attended the University of Arkansas and got a masters in space and planetary sciences. She went on to receive a second masters at the University of Colorado in space operations.

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Jamestown Native, NASA Member Talks Mission To Mars - Jamestown Post Journal