Saturday, November 15, 2014

Report claims a third of UK jobs at risk from robots  today's Open Thread

The UK’s next general election looks like it may be dominated by the topic of immigration, thanks to the rise of UKIP and the desire of the established political parties to head off a drain in supporters by edging closer to its policies.

If there’s a looming threat to British jobs, though, isn’t it more likely to come from robots rather than immigration? A new report published by Deloitte, the Oxford Martin School and the University of Oxford hints at exactly that.

It claims that 35% of existing UK jobs are at “high risk of replacement in the next 20 years” from technology, automation and robotics, with lower-paid jobs more than five times as likely to be replaced than higher-paid jobs.

“Unless these changes coming in the next two decades are fully understood and anticipated by businesses, policy makers and educators, there will be a risk of avoidable unemployment and under-employment,” warns Deloitte’s senior partner Angus Knowles-Cutler.

Yet the report also suggests that in London specifically, 73% of businesses are planning to increase their overall headcount, to bring in the new skills and roles required by technology advances.

Even so, are we sleepwalking into a dangerous situation if we don’t put the correct educational elements in place to retrain people for these new kinds of jobs? Is this just a problem for politicians, or does the technology industry have social responsibilities too?

The comments section is open for your views.

Some other stories on the technology radar today:

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella on the core of his company: “There is Windows, there is Office 365, and there is Azure. That’s it.” Although I can’t help wondering where gaming fits into this: Nadella has made it clear that he’s not intending to sell Xbox, and spending $2.5bn on Minecraft-maker Mojang is a clear statement of intent. So does gaming fit under “Windows” then?
There’s another iOS security issue being discussed: Masque Attack. Uncovered by security firm FireEye, it involves replacing iOS apps installed on a device with malware. It follows the recent discovery of the Mac-to-iOS WireLurker malware. “Masque Attacks can pose much bigger threats than WireLurker,” claims the company.Like Facebook, Google has launched a campaign to raise money to fight Ebola. It’s promising to donate $2 itself for every $1 donated. “These organizations are doing remarkable work in very difficult circumstances to help contain this outbreak, and we hope our contribution will help them have an even greater impact,” wrote CEO Larry Page.
There’s a new Raspberry Pi computer in town: the Model A+. It’s smaller and consumes less power than the existing Model A, and will sell for just $20. “When we announced Raspberry Pi back in 2011, the idea of producing an ‘ARM GNU/Linux box for $25’ seemed ambitious, so it’s pretty mind-bending to be able to knock another $5 off the cost while continuing to build it here in the UK...”The latest concern for celebrities, politicians and business leaders hoping their private information doesn’t get leaked: DarkHotel. Attackers who lurk on hotel Wi-Fi networks waiting for high-profile guests to check in then log in. “This is NSA-level infection mechanism,” said security firm Kaspersky Lab.
Finally, Maker Club is a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo trying to raise $10,000 for a kit for children that helps them “learn to code, design and build 3D printed robots”. “All the parts for the robots are interchangeable, like Lego, so once you’ve got the hang of things, there’s almost nothing you can’t invent...”

What other stories have you seen this morning? Make your recommendations – as well as chewing over the stories above – in the comments section.


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