Browsing All posts tagged under »robots«

Strap in — it’s the rise of the machines

January 21, 2020

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Artificial Intelligence and the technology employing it is not our enemy; it is who controls it and to what end that will determine whether humanity benefits or finds itself in the sort of dystopian world only imagine4d by the most pessimistic speculative fiction writers. The technology now being developed, displaces human labour; it does not (as in previous industrial revolutions) provide machines that make human labour more productive. It has never been more imperative for working people to take democratic control and perhaop liuberate humanity.

A new year — and a new world ahead

January 10, 2016

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We are on the cusp of a time when all work could be done by machine. Yet there is little sign of any move to design or promote a system that can cope; that could ensure that the technological advances made can be utilised for the benefit of humanity as a whole. Instead, there is a grasping at myths of the past.

Coping with the robot revolution

September 21, 2015

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If the rise of robots — the spread of automation — is killing jobs and threatening the world with disaster, how can this be seen as potentially beneficial? It’s a question that is frequently asked and seldom answered. But we should welcome developments that minimise drudgery and that produce more and better products more cheaply and efficiently — however, only if they benefit us all.

Why trade unions are even more relevant today

June 27, 2015

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As the micro chip rvolution continues to gain pace, trade unions — as democratic organisations of the sellers of labour — are probably more relevant now than they have ever been. Especially for anyone who feels that democracy is an important concept.

Turning the (non-existent) economic corner

November 24, 2010

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We have turned the corner economically. That is the ongoing claim from politicians, pundits and mainstream media commentators. But, as Federation of Unions of SA general secretary Dennis George has noted: “Growth without job creation is meaningless. It certainly is for the overwhelming majority of the population, and this is a situation that applies across the world, although not in any uniform manner. For all the optimistic pronouncements, the global economic crisis continues and there is no sign that it is ending.

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Cape Town, South Africa-based journalist commentator and author specialising in political and economic analysis and labour matters.

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