How about this for a future job advert? “Wranglers wanted for growing fleets of robots. Your responsibilities will include evaluating robot performance, providing real-time analysis and support for problems. “You must be analytical, detail-oriented, friendly – and ready to walk. No advanced degree required.” Even if this particular advert has not yet appeared, some are already carrying… Read more »
Posts Categorized: Automation
Drones, tractor hacks and robotic sprayers: the technology of farming
Farming may not be the first industry that comes to mind when we think of technological advancement, but that’s changing — fast. Agricultural giant John Deere, for instance, just spent $305 million to buy a robotics company. The farm machine manufacturer has been around for almost two centuries, but it too has felt the need to keep up with changing trends and tools, says… Read more »
Self-Driving Cars Will Kill People. Who Decides Who Dies?
To understand the trolley problem, first consider this scenario: You are standing on a bridge. Underneath you, a railroad track divides into a main route and an alternative. On the main route, 50 people are tied to the rails. A trolley rushes under the bridge on the main route, hurtling towards the captives. Fortunately, there’s… Read more »
42% of Canadian jobs at high risk of being affected by automation, new study suggests
More than 40 per cent of the Canadian workforce is at high risk of being replaced by technology and computers in the next two decades, according to a new report out Wednesday. The Brookfield Institute for Innovation + Entrepreneurship at Toronto’s Ryerson University said in its report that automation previously has been restricted to routine, manual tasks. However, breakthroughs in… Read more »
From cowboys to robots: truckers eye uncertain future
Kings of the road are by turns dismissive and wary of the technology revolution that might one day remove them from their cabs. Source: Toronto Star / Washington Post Date: May 30th, 2017 Link: https://www.thestar.com/business/tech_news/2017/05/26/from-cowboys-to-robots-truckers-eye-uncertain-future.html Discussion 1) “Anything that’s run by a computer is going to get messed up,” Spell said. “They don’t have no bulletproof software.” Do… Read more »
Self-driving garbage trucks would cut wasted time
Source: CNN Date: May 30th, 2017 Link to video: http://money.cnn.com/video/technology/future/2017/05/18/self-driving-garbage-trucks-would-cut-wasted-time.cnnmoney/ Discussion 1) Garbage/trash trucks seem like a very logical move for self-driving automation: they follow a set route at a slow speed and have a human outside the truck. This is almost like the beginning of when cars first came out and each car had to have a… Read more »
From cowboys to robots: truckers eye uncertain future
Kings of the road are by turns dismissive and wary of the technology revolution that might one day remove them from their cabs. Source: Toronto Star / Washington Post Date: May 30th, 2017 Link: https://www.thestar.com/business/tech_news/2017/05/26/from-cowboys-to-robots-truckers-eye-uncertain-future.html Discussion 1) “Anything that’s run by a computer is going to get messed up,” Spell said. “They don’t have no bulletproof software.” Do… Read more »
The next big thing in construction robotics is building big
<iframe src=”//www.cbc.ca/i/caffeine/syndicate/?mediaId=930016835781″ width=”460″ height=”” frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen></iframe> Think of it as a souped-up self-driving 3D printer on wheels. It built the scaffolding of this unfinished structure in just 13.5 hours, and all it’s waiting for now is concrete to be poured. While robotics and automation have revolutionized the way factories build cars and computers — helping… Read more »
Rise of the machines: Bank of Canada warns of automation’s side effects
Policy-makers need to prepare for the negatives like income inequality brought on by conditions that could help workers whose skills are complemented by innovations and those whose tasks are replaced by machines. Source: Toronto Star Date: April 21st, 2017 Link: https://www.thestar.com/business/2017/04/18/rise-of-the-machines-bank-of-canada-warns-of-automations-side-effects.html Discussion 1) Technology will bring “painful side effects like job losses and greater income inequality.” What, if… Read more »
Sorry, But Amazon Isn’t Actually Annihilating Retail Jobs
There is a problem with much of the current rhetoric claiming that the automation of industry is leading to the annihilation of jobs and/or the enslavement of humanity. Source: Wired Magazine Date: March 1st, 2017 Link: https://www.wired.com/2017/03/sorry-amazon-isnt-actually-annihilating-retail-jobs/ Discussion 1) “By 2016 e-commerce comprised just 8.3 percent ($102.7 billion) of the total retail market ($1.2 trillion). While that’s a big… Read more »
Leading Titles
Introduction to Information Systems, 3rd Canadian Binder Ready Version Update Edition
R. Kelly Rainer, Casey G. Cegielski, Ingrid Splettstoesser-Hogeterp, Cristobal Sanchez-Rodriguez
ISBN: 978-1-119-13385-8
August 2015, © 2016
CDN $98.95; CDN $114.95