October 13, 2017
Major US surveys uncover ambivalent attitudes towards the impact of technology and automation on our lives
The ambivalent attitude many people hold towards technology is laid bare in two major new studies from the Pew Research Centre. When asked to name what has brought about the biggest improvements in their lives over the last 50 years, technology is the most commonly cited factor by people across the US. They are even optimistic that technology will have a similarly beneficial impact over the next half century. Yet when asked about their specific attitudes towards artificial intelligence and automation in a second survey, many are apprehensive about the impact the technologies will have on their jobs and income.
UK workers are largely optimistic about the impact automation will have in the workplace, with three in four believing it will give them more time to concentrate on their primary job duties and work more flexibly, claims new research. Workfront’s annual State of Enterprise Work report, which aims to capture not only how work is being done and what challenges office workers see in the present, but also how they see current workplace trends playing out in the near future reveals that 84 percent agreed with the sentiment that “the use of automation in the workplace will let us think of work in new and innovative ways.” 82 percent expressed excitement at the chance “to learn new things as the workforce moves toward more automation;” and while the overwhelming view on automation was positive, around 2 in 5 (38 percent) feared that rising automation will place humans and robots in competition for the same jobs in the future.
The number of large scale Internet of Things (IoT) projects have doubled in the last year, as projects move from small pilots to global rollouts, according to Vodafone’s fifth annual IoT Barometer Report. The range of benefits that users are getting from IoT is also widening as adoption increases – greater business insights, reduced costs and improved employee productivity top the list globally. Large scale users report some of the biggest business gains with 67 percent of them highlighting significant returns from the use of IoT. Energy and utility companies are at the forefront of the largest IoT projects worldwide, with applications such as smart meters and pipeline monitoring. Security in IoT is still the biggest barrier for organisations regarding deployment. However, in companies with 10,000 or more connected devices in operation only 7 percent say security is their top worry. Organisations are taking more steps to tackle security concerns including an increase in security training for existing staff, working with specialist security providers and recruiting more IT security specialists.
In the same week that Gartner offered some useful insights into the building blocks for a successful 
September 13, 2017
Banking sector will be ground zero for job losses from artificial intelligence and robotics
by Gordon Fletcher and David Kreps • AI, Comment, Technology
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