Technological Unemployment News & Discussions
Re: Technological Unemployment News & Discussions
Performers Worry Artificial Intelligence Will Take Their Jobs
June 09, 2023
Leaders of the SAG-AFTRA actors’ union say the group’s members are concerned that they will lose work because of Artificial Intelligence, or AI, tools.
The labor organization started talks with Hollywood movie studios about a new contract this week.
Duncan Crabtree-Ireland is the main person speaking with movie studios on behalf of the actors. He is SAG-AFTRA’s negotiator.
He said people who work in movies have their stock-in-trade, or their special qualities that make them different from another actor. He listed an actor’s name, voice, personality and likeness when describing those qualities. Crabtree-Ireland wants to be sure actors keep making money from their special qualities.
For example, the labor organization wants to prevent movie production companies from taking an actor’s image in one movie and using it to create a “digital double” for a new movie.
https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/p ... 25634.html
June 09, 2023
Leaders of the SAG-AFTRA actors’ union say the group’s members are concerned that they will lose work because of Artificial Intelligence, or AI, tools.
The labor organization started talks with Hollywood movie studios about a new contract this week.
Duncan Crabtree-Ireland is the main person speaking with movie studios on behalf of the actors. He is SAG-AFTRA’s negotiator.
He said people who work in movies have their stock-in-trade, or their special qualities that make them different from another actor. He listed an actor’s name, voice, personality and likeness when describing those qualities. Crabtree-Ireland wants to be sure actors keep making money from their special qualities.
For example, the labor organization wants to prevent movie production companies from taking an actor’s image in one movie and using it to create a “digital double” for a new movie.
https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/p ... 25634.html
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funkervogt
- Posts: 1365
- Joined: Mon May 17, 2021 3:03 pm
Re: Technological Unemployment News & Discussions
Robot can attach eyelash extensions onto people cheaper than human cosmetologists.
Re: Technological Unemployment News & Discussions
Kenya's tea pickers are destroying the machines replacing them
Updated Jun 13, 2023, 4:47pm GMT+1
KERICHO, Kenya — Kenyan tea pickers are destroying machines brought in to replace them during violent protests that highlight the challenge faced by low-skilled workers as more agribusiness companies rely on automation to cut costs.
At least 10 tea-plucking machines have been torched in multiple flashpoints in the past year, according to local media reports. Recent demonstrations have left one protester dead and several injured, including 23 police officers and farm workers. The Kenya Tea Growers Association (KTGA) estimated the cost of damaged machinery at $1.2 million (170 million Kenyan shillings) after nine machines belonging to Ekaterra, makers of the top-selling tea brand Lipton, were destroyed in May.
In March, a local government taskforce recommended that tea companies in Kericho, the country’s largest tea-growing town, adopt a new 60:40 ratio of mechanized tea harvesting to hand-plucking. The taskforce also wants legislation passed to limit importation of tea harvesting machines. Nicholas Kirui, a member of the taskforce and former CEO of KTGA, told Semafor Africa 30,000 jobs had been lost to mechanization in Kericho county alone over the past decade.
"We did public participation in all the wards and with all the different groups, and the overwhelming sentiment we were hearing was that the machines should go," Kirui said.
In 2021, Kenya exported tea worth $1.2 billion, making it the third-largest tea exporter globally, behind China and Sri Lanka. Multinationals including Browns Investments, George Williamson and Ekaterra — which was sold by Unilever to a private equity firm in July 2022 — plant on an estimated 200,000 acres in Kericho and have all adopted mechanized harvesting.
https://www.semafor.com/article/06/13/2 ... y-machines
Updated Jun 13, 2023, 4:47pm GMT+1
KERICHO, Kenya — Kenyan tea pickers are destroying machines brought in to replace them during violent protests that highlight the challenge faced by low-skilled workers as more agribusiness companies rely on automation to cut costs.
At least 10 tea-plucking machines have been torched in multiple flashpoints in the past year, according to local media reports. Recent demonstrations have left one protester dead and several injured, including 23 police officers and farm workers. The Kenya Tea Growers Association (KTGA) estimated the cost of damaged machinery at $1.2 million (170 million Kenyan shillings) after nine machines belonging to Ekaterra, makers of the top-selling tea brand Lipton, were destroyed in May.
In March, a local government taskforce recommended that tea companies in Kericho, the country’s largest tea-growing town, adopt a new 60:40 ratio of mechanized tea harvesting to hand-plucking. The taskforce also wants legislation passed to limit importation of tea harvesting machines. Nicholas Kirui, a member of the taskforce and former CEO of KTGA, told Semafor Africa 30,000 jobs had been lost to mechanization in Kericho county alone over the past decade.
"We did public participation in all the wards and with all the different groups, and the overwhelming sentiment we were hearing was that the machines should go," Kirui said.
In 2021, Kenya exported tea worth $1.2 billion, making it the third-largest tea exporter globally, behind China and Sri Lanka. Multinationals including Browns Investments, George Williamson and Ekaterra — which was sold by Unilever to a private equity firm in July 2022 — plant on an estimated 200,000 acres in Kericho and have all adopted mechanized harvesting.
https://www.semafor.com/article/06/13/2 ... y-machines
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funkervogt
- Posts: 1365
- Joined: Mon May 17, 2021 3:03 pm
Re: Technological Unemployment News & Discussions
https://reason.com/2023/06/15/the-rail- ... ot-safety/The result is legislation with little connection to the derailment, or to any other derailments for that matter. Indeed, it appears to push pet projects that legislators wanted all along without any reckoning of costs and benefits. In consequence, says University of Dayton professor Michael F. Gorman in a new paper, none of the bill's detailed prescriptions and rules "would reduce the risk of a serious accident involving the transport of hazardous material. Taken together, they will likely result in an inferior outcome to the status quo."
This is not surprising. What the bill does have is an awful lot in it for unions to like. For instance, it would freeze train crew sizes (the opposite of efficiency and something unions were demanding long before the derailment) and require more inspections that can only be performed by, you guessed it, union workers.
These regulations might appeal to some people, but let's not pretend they will make the railroad industry more effective. Instead, they would make freight more expensive, potentially pushing more of it toward trucking (a dirty and more dangerous mode of transport). More frustrating is that none of these measures would prevent what is the leading cause of derailment in the United States—namely, human error.
The solution to human error is more automation rather than more people. In testimony before the House Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials earlier in May, the Reason Foundation's Marc Scribner explained how rail safety can be greatly enhanced through automated track inspection and automated train operations. He also noted that the search for improved safety above and beyond what regulators require of the rail industry—improvement chiefly through automation—is already well underway.
Re: Technological Unemployment News & Discussions
US Employment Rate
In January 60.20%
In February 60.20%
In March 60.40%
In April 60.40%
In May 60.30%
Australia Employment Rate
In January 64.2%
In February 64.3%
In March 64.5%
In April 64.3%
In May 64.5%
I am starting from January 2023 so each time a year passes I can replace months for that year with the yearly average. It is also after covid recovery and before AI has any impact. (I might later include a yearly average for a year such as 2022 or 2019 if technological unemployment happens this year.)
Lowest US has been since 1948 aka covid crash is 51.30
So low 50s = $hit hitting the fan.
In January 60.20%
In February 60.20%
In March 60.40%
In April 60.40%
In May 60.30%
Australia Employment Rate
In January 64.2%
In February 64.3%
In March 64.5%
In April 64.3%
In May 64.5%
I am starting from January 2023 so each time a year passes I can replace months for that year with the yearly average. It is also after covid recovery and before AI has any impact. (I might later include a yearly average for a year such as 2022 or 2019 if technological unemployment happens this year.)
Lowest US has been since 1948 aka covid crash is 51.30
So low 50s = $hit hitting the fan.
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funkervogt
- Posts: 1365
- Joined: Mon May 17, 2021 3:03 pm
Re: Technological Unemployment News & Discussions
Biden's expensive plan to bring back factory jobs to the U.S. will fail.
https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/worl ... 51408.html
https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/worl ... 51408.html
Re: Technological Unemployment News & Discussions
SAG strike: Hollywood actors walk out over pay and AI worries
1 hour ago
Hollywood actors have joined a strike by screenwriters in the industry's biggest shutdown for more than 60 years.
Some 160,000 performers stopped work at midnight in Los Angeles, bringing to a halt most US film and TV productions.
The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) wants streaming giants to agree to a fairer split of profits and better working conditions.
It also wants to protect actors from being usurped by digital replicas.
The union is seeking guarantees that artificial intelligence (AI) and computer-generated faces and voices will not be used to replace actors.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-66196357
1 hour ago
Hollywood actors have joined a strike by screenwriters in the industry's biggest shutdown for more than 60 years.
Some 160,000 performers stopped work at midnight in Los Angeles, bringing to a halt most US film and TV productions.
The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) wants streaming giants to agree to a fairer split of profits and better working conditions.
It also wants to protect actors from being usurped by digital replicas.
The union is seeking guarantees that artificial intelligence (AI) and computer-generated faces and voices will not be used to replace actors.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-66196357
Re: Technological Unemployment News & Discussions
US Employment Rate
In January 60.2%
In February 60.2%
In March 60.4%
In April 60.4%
In May 60.3%
In June 60.3%
I am starting from January 2023 so each time a year passes I can replace months for that year with the yearly average. It is also after covid recovery and before AI has any impact. (I might later include a yearly average for a year such as 2022 or 2019 if technological unemployment happens this year.)
Lowest US has been since 1948 aka covid crash is 51.30
So low 50s = $hit hitting the fan.
In January 60.2%
In February 60.2%
In March 60.4%
In April 60.4%
In May 60.3%
In June 60.3%
I am starting from January 2023 so each time a year passes I can replace months for that year with the yearly average. It is also after covid recovery and before AI has any impact. (I might later include a yearly average for a year such as 2022 or 2019 if technological unemployment happens this year.)
Lowest US has been since 1948 aka covid crash is 51.30
So low 50s = $hit hitting the fan.
Re: Technological Unemployment News & Discussions
End of the bartender? The UK vending machines pouring pints for the masses
Sat 22 Jul 2023 09.00 BST
The queue for the bar has long been a bugbear for the thirsty sports fan, a gamble that all too often results in a rushed pint, downed just before the whistle for the start of the second-half.
After missing a key try at an international rugby match while waiting for a beer a few years ago, Sam Pettipher decided to do something about it. Studying for an MBA at Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen at the time, he dedicated his final project on “technology commercialisation” to finding a better way of lubricating crowds at mass events.
His solution: the EBar. An invention that will either fill your heart with gladness or make you fear for the future of the bartender, depending on how you feel about self-service checkouts and the prospects of robots taking all of our jobs.
https://www.theguardian.com/business/20 ... are_btn_tw
Credit: Christopher Thomond/The Guardian
Sat 22 Jul 2023 09.00 BST
The queue for the bar has long been a bugbear for the thirsty sports fan, a gamble that all too often results in a rushed pint, downed just before the whistle for the start of the second-half.
After missing a key try at an international rugby match while waiting for a beer a few years ago, Sam Pettipher decided to do something about it. Studying for an MBA at Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen at the time, he dedicated his final project on “technology commercialisation” to finding a better way of lubricating crowds at mass events.
His solution: the EBar. An invention that will either fill your heart with gladness or make you fear for the future of the bartender, depending on how you feel about self-service checkouts and the prospects of robots taking all of our jobs.
https://www.theguardian.com/business/20 ... are_btn_tw
Credit: Christopher Thomond/The Guardian
Re: Technological Unemployment News & Discussions
ChatGPT creator says AI advocates are fooling themselves if they think the technology is only going to be good for workers: 'Jobs are definitely going to go away'
Jacob Zinkula
Jul 25, 2023, 7:31 PM BST
Generative artificial intelligence technology such as ChatGPT could boost productivity for many workers in the years ahead. But some people are likely to lose their jobs in the process.
That's according to Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT. Altman said in June that AI's development could provide the "most tremendous leap forward" for people's quality of life. But he also said in March it'd be "crazy not to be a little afraid of AI" and its potential to create "disinformation problems or economic shocks."
In a new interview with The Atlantic, Altman pushed back on the idea that the AI boom would have only a positive impact on workers.
"A lot of people working on AI pretend that it's only going to be good; it's only going to be a supplement; no one is ever going to be replaced," he said. "Jobs are definitely going to go away, full stop."
https://www.businessinsider.com/chatgpt ... ?r=US&IR=T
Jacob Zinkula
Jul 25, 2023, 7:31 PM BST
Generative artificial intelligence technology such as ChatGPT could boost productivity for many workers in the years ahead. But some people are likely to lose their jobs in the process.
That's according to Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT. Altman said in June that AI's development could provide the "most tremendous leap forward" for people's quality of life. But he also said in March it'd be "crazy not to be a little afraid of AI" and its potential to create "disinformation problems or economic shocks."
In a new interview with The Atlantic, Altman pushed back on the idea that the AI boom would have only a positive impact on workers.
"A lot of people working on AI pretend that it's only going to be good; it's only going to be a supplement; no one is ever going to be replaced," he said. "Jobs are definitely going to go away, full stop."
https://www.businessinsider.com/chatgpt ... ?r=US&IR=T
Re: Technological Unemployment News & Discussions
US Employment Rate
In January 60.2%
In February 60.2%
In March 60.4%
In April 60.4%
In May 60.3%
In June 60.3%
In July 60.4%
In a way I kind of like the lack of tech unemployment this year. It means I can use the year as a bit of a baseline.
In January 60.2%
In February 60.2%
In March 60.4%
In April 60.4%
In May 60.3%
In June 60.3%
In July 60.4%
In a way I kind of like the lack of tech unemployment this year. It means I can use the year as a bit of a baseline.
Re: Technological Unemployment News & Discussions
US Employment Rate
In January 60.2%
In February 60.2%
In March 60.4%
In April 60.4%
In May 60.3%
In June 60.3%
In July 60.4%
In August 60.4%
In January 60.2%
In February 60.2%
In March 60.4%
In April 60.4%
In May 60.3%
In June 60.3%
In July 60.4%
In August 60.4%
Re: Technological Unemployment News & Discussions
“AI took my job, literally” — Gizmodo fires Spanish staff amid switch to AI translator
9/5/2023, 8:57 PM
Last week, Gizmodo parent company G/O Media fired the staff of its Spanish-language site Gizmodo en Español and began to replace their work with AI translations of English-language articles, reports The Verge.
Former Gizmodo writer Matías S. Zavia publicly mentioned the layoffs, which took place via video call on August 29, in a social media post. On August 31, Zavia wrote, "Hello friends. On Tuesday they shut down @GizmodoES to turn it into a translation self-publisher (an AI took my job, literally)."
Previously, Gizmodo en Español had a small but dedicated team who wrote original content tailored specifically for Spanish-speaking readers, as well as producing translations of Gizmodo's English articles. The site represented Gizmodo's first foray into international markets when it launched in 2012 after being acquired from Guanabee.
Newly published articles on the site now contain a link to the English version of the article and a disclaimer stating (via our translation from Google Translate), "This content has been automatically translated from the source material. Due to the nuances of machine translation, there may be slight differences. For the original version, click here."
https://arstechnica.com/information-tec ... ranslator/
9/5/2023, 8:57 PM
Last week, Gizmodo parent company G/O Media fired the staff of its Spanish-language site Gizmodo en Español and began to replace their work with AI translations of English-language articles, reports The Verge.
Former Gizmodo writer Matías S. Zavia publicly mentioned the layoffs, which took place via video call on August 29, in a social media post. On August 31, Zavia wrote, "Hello friends. On Tuesday they shut down @GizmodoES to turn it into a translation self-publisher (an AI took my job, literally)."
Previously, Gizmodo en Español had a small but dedicated team who wrote original content tailored specifically for Spanish-speaking readers, as well as producing translations of Gizmodo's English articles. The site represented Gizmodo's first foray into international markets when it launched in 2012 after being acquired from Guanabee.
Newly published articles on the site now contain a link to the English version of the article and a disclaimer stating (via our translation from Google Translate), "This content has been automatically translated from the source material. Due to the nuances of machine translation, there may be slight differences. For the original version, click here."
https://arstechnica.com/information-tec ... ranslator/
Re: Technological Unemployment News & Discussions
Yep. 
To know is essentially the same as not knowing. The only thing that occurs is the rearrangement of atoms in your brain.
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Nanotechandmorefuture
- Posts: 478
- Joined: Fri Sep 17, 2021 6:15 pm
- Location: At the moment Miami, FL
Re: Technological Unemployment News & Discussions
Besides grouping the sports people who are annoying as it is this is on the level of passive aggressiveness that all the Europeans especially ones that own countries do. Even if they clean the dang things it still gets moldy so like the whole using feet to squish grapes meme from years back its an out of the way manner to hurt people the passive aggressive way.wjfox wrote: ↑Sun Jul 23, 2023 7:31 am End of the bartender? The UK vending machines pouring pints for the masses
Sat 22 Jul 2023 09.00 BST
The queue for the bar has long been a bugbear for the thirsty sports fan, a gamble that all too often results in a rushed pint, downed just before the whistle for the start of the second-half.
After missing a key try at an international rugby match while waiting for a beer a few years ago, Sam Pettipher decided to do something about it. Studying for an MBA at Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen at the time, he dedicated his final project on “technology commercialisation” to finding a better way of lubricating crowds at mass events.
His solution: the EBar. An invention that will either fill your heart with gladness or make you fear for the future of the bartender, depending on how you feel about self-service checkouts and the prospects of robots taking all of our jobs.
https://www.theguardian.com/business/20 ... are_btn_tw
Credit: Christopher Thomond/The Guardian
I guess here in the USA they were right if the opposition to different races ever became a real issue which if allowed to grow can easily be within a year's problem. If whites in Europe are dealing with this sort of issue its not looking good for anyone here in the USA. The opposition winning here in the USA would immediately resort to infighting.
Re: Technological Unemployment News & Discussions
After ChatGPT disruption, Stack Overflow lays off 28 percent of staff
Ron Amadeo - 10/16/2023, 9:44 PM
Stack Overflow used to be every developer's favorite site for coding help, but with the rise of generative AI like ChatGPT, chatbots can offer more specific help than a 5-year-old forum post ever could. You can get instant corrections to your exact code, optimization suggestions, and explanations of what each line of code is doing. While no chatbot is 100 percent reliable, code has the unique ability to be instantly verified by just testing it in your IDE (integrated development environment), which makes it an ideal use case for chatbots. Where exactly does that leave sites like Stack Overflow? Apparently, not in a great situation. Today, CEO Prashanth Chandrasekar announced Stack Overflow is laying off 28 percent of its staff.
In a post on the Stack Overflow blog, the CEO says the company is on a "path to profitability" and "continued product innovation." You might think of Stack Overflow as "just a forum," but the company is working on a direct answer to ChatGPT in the form of "Overflow AI," which was announced in July. Stack Overflow's profitability plan includes cutting costs, and that's the justification for the layoffs. Stack Overflow doubled its headcount in 2022 with 525 people. ChatGPT launched at the end of 2022, making for unfortunate timing.
Of course, the great irony of ChatGPT hurting Stack Overflow is that a great deal of the chatbot's development prowess comes from scraping sites like Stack Overflow. Chatbots have many questions to answer about the sustainability of the web. They vacuum up all this data and give nothing back, so what is supposed to happen when you drive all your data sources out of business?
OpenAI is working on web crawler controls for ChatGPT, which would let sites like Stack Overflow opt out of crawling. Stack Overflow hopes to get AI firms to pay to scrape the site, but it's unclear if the company will get any customers paying a sustainable price. As we've seen with chatbots convincing each other that you can "melt eggs," Chandrasekar has argued that sites like Stack Overflow are essential for chatbots, saying they need "to be trained on something that's progressing knowledge forward. They need new knowledge to be created."
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2023/10 ... -of-staff/
Ron Amadeo - 10/16/2023, 9:44 PM
Stack Overflow used to be every developer's favorite site for coding help, but with the rise of generative AI like ChatGPT, chatbots can offer more specific help than a 5-year-old forum post ever could. You can get instant corrections to your exact code, optimization suggestions, and explanations of what each line of code is doing. While no chatbot is 100 percent reliable, code has the unique ability to be instantly verified by just testing it in your IDE (integrated development environment), which makes it an ideal use case for chatbots. Where exactly does that leave sites like Stack Overflow? Apparently, not in a great situation. Today, CEO Prashanth Chandrasekar announced Stack Overflow is laying off 28 percent of its staff.
In a post on the Stack Overflow blog, the CEO says the company is on a "path to profitability" and "continued product innovation." You might think of Stack Overflow as "just a forum," but the company is working on a direct answer to ChatGPT in the form of "Overflow AI," which was announced in July. Stack Overflow's profitability plan includes cutting costs, and that's the justification for the layoffs. Stack Overflow doubled its headcount in 2022 with 525 people. ChatGPT launched at the end of 2022, making for unfortunate timing.
Of course, the great irony of ChatGPT hurting Stack Overflow is that a great deal of the chatbot's development prowess comes from scraping sites like Stack Overflow. Chatbots have many questions to answer about the sustainability of the web. They vacuum up all this data and give nothing back, so what is supposed to happen when you drive all your data sources out of business?
OpenAI is working on web crawler controls for ChatGPT, which would let sites like Stack Overflow opt out of crawling. Stack Overflow hopes to get AI firms to pay to scrape the site, but it's unclear if the company will get any customers paying a sustainable price. As we've seen with chatbots convincing each other that you can "melt eggs," Chandrasekar has argued that sites like Stack Overflow are essential for chatbots, saying they need "to be trained on something that's progressing knowledge forward. They need new knowledge to be created."
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2023/10 ... -of-staff/