Different in terms of who will be impacted.  While past displacements fell into the category of repeatable and lower-skilled workplace tasks, AI threatens to disrupt a new higher-echelon level of jobs.  Vulnerable occupations include marketing specialists, financial advisers, programmers and others in what have been high-paying fields, according to a recent study by the Brookings Institute.  Even engineers, optometrists, graphic designers and sales managers are not immune.

Whereas technology in the past may have replaced lower-skilled, more repetitive tasks and jobs, AI, they say, will be different.  As Eric Morath writes in The Outlook, Wall Street Journal (2-24-20), “AI enables computers to analyze data, predict outcomes, learn from experience by recognizing patterns and make decisions.  Such tasks are currently done by professional workers, many with college degrees.”  In other words, AI machines are quickly learning to do what previously only humans could – only sometimes, they do it better.

While such tech has the ability to free up workers for other tasks, like spending more time with customers and patients for example, it could also reduce the overall need for a wide range of specialists.  Previous automation has replaced people attaching parts on an assembly line or adding columns of numbers on a ledger.  According to one researcher at Stanford University, AI will substitute for a range of tasks, which may or may not lead to a total displacement; but one thing is for sure: jobs will change.

According to a study of how much AI abilities overlapped existing occupations, holders of bachelor’s degrees are five time more likely to be exposed to some effect of AI as are those with high school diplomas. Those with the highest exposure are in the 70^th to 90^th percentile of wage earners.  Some tasks like intensive data analysis may be replaced by more profitable activities thus leading to productivity increases and higher wages.  But in other cases workers could find their jobs so simplified as to be filled by someone less educated, thus driving down wages in the process, or be entirely replaced by technology.

So will AI be a net gain or loss for U.S. jobs?  The U.S. has six million fewer factory jobs than it did in the late 1970s, while the economy overall has 62 million more, primarily due to growth in the service sector.  Meanwhile, unemployment levels hover at 50 year lows.  Top executives are less likely exposed to displacement (for the top 10% of earners), so CEOs are largely exempt for now.  As one study’s author deadpans, “they’re not the ones doing the number crunching and making the PowerPoints.”

Do you need help with your processes and automation?  We’re here, we’re local, and we’re here to help!  We invite you to contact PSSI directly at 877.273.2444.

From the ALERE monthly Dealer’s Bulletin, we present some important points about operating in real-time in the production environment, courtesy of company President, Rod Hatcher…

ALERE, since its inception, has been designed to perform real time operations. Why is that important you may ask? There are many answers for that question and they all revolve around efficiencies and capabilities. Here are five examples of real time advantages:

Period and Year End Closings – Period closings are automatically performed and year end closings can be done at your convenience. This means company operations are not interrupted monthly, and year end numbers are available immediately without time constraints.

Executive Advisor – The purpose of the Executive Advisor is to provide key financial indicators that are up to date as of the moment you look at them. The information provides better control over cash flow and profitability by eliminating the guesswork inherent in a batch system.

As-Of Reporting – This allows you to know last year’s inventory levels on a given day, print an income statement for any range of dates, or compare those income statements for any range of dates.

Physical Inventory – Taking inventory is a necessary but onerous task. Using ALERE, and a portable bar code scanner, allows the count to go much faster and more accurately without requiring all, or a portion of, inventory to be frozen for a period of time. See the article in this eNotes for more information on this process.

Data Acquisition – Integrated throughout ALERE, barcoding processes orders for shipping, receives items into inventory, transfers stock between locations, and tracks manufacturing activities in real time for better control.

ALERE’s real time design will save you money and increase work efficiency.

Want to Learn More About ALERE?  

TIW has a 7 minute “Manufacturing Overview Video“ on YouTube that gives a concise summary of what manufacturing software can do for you.  Click the link below to see why ALERE may be a great fit for your manufacturing operations.

• Interested in a trial version for your organization?

PSSI can work with you to understand better what a manufacturing software system can do for you.  For information on obtaining a trial version, contact Larry Lukasik at the number below.

To learn more, call us any time at 877.273.2444, or visit us on the web.