by Gemma Thomas | Jan 2, 2018 | Featured, GloWellness
With Philip Hammond designating £500m to Artificial Intelligence is it surprising that we are all asking the question about how long it will be before Robots take over our jobs.
According to Stephen Hawking – Artificial Intelligence is imminent and says:
‘The outcome will depend on how things are distributed. Everyone can enjoy a life of luxurious leisure if the machine-produced wealth is shared, or most people can end up miserably poor if the machine-owners successfully lobby against wealth redistribution. So far, the trend seems to be toward the second option, with technology driving ever-increasing inequality.’
I think we all know this to be true, and I am not sure if it is comforting or worrying to know that Britain is way behind the US, France, Germany and Spain in the development of Artificial Intelligence.
But it is still predicted that four million jobs in the British private sector could be replaced by robots in the next decade.
Jobs in finance, accounting, transport, marketing and advertising are predicted to be run by machines within a few years, whereas jobs in the health and care sectors are more secure, still needing the human element.
The University of Oxford predicted 35% of jobs could be rendered obsolete by new technology, while the Bank of England predicted in 2015 that up to 15m jobs in Britain were at risk from robots “hollowing out” the workforce.
Asda for instance operates a fully automated distribution warehouse in West London; white-collar tasks are being automated by PwC, the accountancy firm, and Linklaters, the law firm, which have been developing software robots that use artificial intelligence to learn to do research tasks usually undertaken by junior accountants and lawyers. So there we have it.
But is there an up-side to this, and some people think there is, with the doomsters being overshadowed by the optimists who feel that the introduction of robots may increase the element of human contact in some cases.
Care homes for instance are testing the abilities of robots. One in Lincoln plans to use one to help residents remember daily necessities such as taking medication. The robot will also oversee the set tasks that a nurse would.
A care company in London, Three Sisters Home Care, will soon trial the use of robots for lifting people so only one care worker will be needed rather than two.
‘Three Sisters’ chief executive, Jobeda Ali, told the researchers: “If I don’t have to send a person to do a transfer job [lifting], I can send them to have a cup of tea and a chat. This is a much better use of their time than carrying patients or cooking meals.”
There is also an argument that the elimination of mundane jobs that can easily be performed by Robots, will inspire and give space to the creation of more human centric opportunities where individuals can utilise their more ‘touchy feely’ abilities, and enhance the human element in jobs. If only this were to be true, but we should perhaps hang onto that for fear of damaging our already gloomy outlook on job and wealth distribution.
There should certainly be some ethical guidelines in place as robotic job descriptions are created, to allow for the element of human intervention so that all is not lost for the human job force.
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by Olivia | Dec 22, 2017 | Featured, GloWellness
Self-belief has nothing to do with looks, ability or talent, it is something that is inherent in certain individuals, perhaps through confident parenting, a good mentor or teacher – or a strength that has been acquired through sheer determination.
Years ago I spoke to the famous Actor and Comedian Mel Smith who would be the first to admit was not known for his good looks. But in spite of his irregular appearance, Mel was extremely charismatic and self-assured, and put this down to a Head Teacher at his school in Chiswick, where he was given huge support and instilled with confidence – which set him up in his adult life.
The opposite can also occur, as in the case of a stunning female friend who is riddled with self-doubt because of her jealous Mother who undermined her at every turn, and was filled with distain and rage if she became her own person and acted independently. Consequently, she now suffers from acute anxiety and lack of belief in her abilities.
Insecure people are not good to be around, and can destroy a relationship, through their own inability to see the positive in others – being blinded by jealousy, envy or fear.
A recent meeting of minds was almost destroyed by one negative member of the team, who could only criticise and yet not come up with any helpful solutions, which could have created an impotent element of self-doubt. But due to the tenacity of the individuals, they identified the motive and removed the source, banishing the culprit from any future meetings.
I recently met a man who had separated from his wife after 20 years of marriage. He had endured mental cruelty for decades, as he had been subjected to years of negativity and criticism of all that he had achieved. He explained that when he met his wife, he had a thriving business, happy clients, and a wonderful circle of friends.
One by one all of this disappeared as she chipped away at his self-confidence, until he was almost bankrupt and socially isolated. It was only after a long illness that he decided he had enough, and is now rebuilding his life and re-connecting with his friends.
He is sad as he realised that his wife was desperately insecure, and criticised him to prevent her own deep insecurity ruining her life. She has of course had to take that back, and is now struggling to keep her head above water.
Negative people are dangerous – and if we recognise that we are home and dry. Remember THE SECRET which states that we are masters of our destiny and our own minds, and if we believe in ourselves we are on the way to victory. If we hang out with people who only see the negative, then we are on a self-destructive path ourselves.
Remember the Rudyard Kipling poem IF – my darling grandmother used to quote it time and time again, and I have to admit I used to yawn every time she did. But now I read it and think how clever Mr Kipling was to write this, years before any self-help books were published. The language may be old, but the sentiment is as current today as it was then, and it really says it all.
‘If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you’
Bottom line is, believe in yourself and you will find others follow suit. So let’s try it and see – and bit by bit you will notice a difference.
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by Gemma Thomas | Dec 6, 2017 | Featured, GloWellness
Got to hold my hands up – I am the first to admit that in spite of being University educated, feminist indoctrinated and a full supporter of women in careers, I am still a smidgeon judgemental where females in men’s roles are concerned.
The other day when I was picking the little ones up from school, a really petite lady was dressed in a duffle coat and woollen hat pressed firmly on her head. ‘Are you the new teacher? The words tripped out of me. She looked at me perplexed and said ‘no, I am the new head of security’. She then went on to say that her husband had been made redundant the year before and they had made a joint decision that she would find a job with flexi hours so that he could stay at home and look after the kids and that she could work the hours they needed to earn sufficient money and spend time with the family. Added to that she said she was really enjoying the role and was thinking of starting her own Security Company.
More and more women are taking on what were previously deemed male roles across varied fields of the job arena, from Engineering, Construction, Boxing, Building and a host of other areas of employment.
Equal pay and equality in the workplace is another issue we are constantly reading about in the press and addressing at Glotime, but as more and more women compete with men and succeed in acquiring jobs where the majority of candidates are male, it is a major step forward.
I recently attended a course in Women in the Workplace and spotted a rather trendy attractive lady with multi-coloured hair, who was part of the attendees. I chatted with her in the break, and discovered that one of their kids had become sick and they had to make a major decision as a family for her husband to stay at home and look after the kids, as she was the main breadwinner. The multi-coloured hair was an experiment her five year old daughter had tried out on her the evening before with a variety of coloured hair sprays, because this lady was great at multi-tasking. She was actually a senior Partner in a law firm and really had her soldiers in place where female equality was concerned.
I am also finding in men’s defence, that many males are incredible supporters of female equality in the workplace with a recent meeting with a CEO of a major oil company in the States, who said that their first Recruitment ad in the fifties stated that ‘it didn’t matter what colour, creed or gender as long as they could do the job’. In our squeaky clean Politically Correct World of today, this would now be frowned upon and deemed prejudice, but back in the day was actually really progressive, and he felt the reason the Company had succeeded and become one of the most successful in the World, turning over Billions of Dollars.
So if you or your offspring are thinking of changing jobs or going into a career carrying more of a male label, then follow your dream – after all it is you who has to do it, and if you love your job you are really home and dry.
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