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Archive for the ‘economics’ category: Page 157

May 28, 2017

The Solar Industry Is Creating Jobs 17 Times Faster Than the Rest of the U.S. Economy

Posted by in categories: economics, employment, energy, sustainability

Jobs in the solar field in the United States grew at a rate 17 times faster than the overall economy. This was part of a larger trend towards jobs in renewable energy and away from more dangerous, less sustainable jobs in fossil fuels.

A new report released by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) reveals that solar jobs in the U.S. (and other nations) are expanding quickly. As of November 2016, the American solar industry employed 260,077 workers. This is an increase of 24.5% from 2015, with a growth rate that is 17 times faster than the United States economy as a whole.

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May 28, 2017

The meaning of life in a world without work

Posted by in categories: economics, employment, information science, robotics/AI

Most jobs that exist today might disappear within decades. As artificial intelligence outperforms humans in more and more tasks, it will replace humans in more and more jobs. Many new professions are likely to appear: virtual-world designers, for example. But such professions will probably require more creativity and flexibility, and it is unclear whether 40-year-old unemployed taxi drivers or insurance agents will be able to reinvent themselves as virtual-world designers (try to imagine a virtual world created by an insurance agent!). And even if the ex-insurance agent somehow makes the transition into a virtual-world designer, the pace of progress is such that within another decade he might have to reinvent himself yet again.

The crucial problem isn’t creating new jobs. The crucial problem is creating new jobs that humans perform better than algorithms. Consequently, by 2050 a new class of people might emerge – the useless class. People who are not just unemployed, but unemployable.

The same technology that renders humans useless might also make it feasible to feed and support the unemployable masses through some scheme of universal basic income. The real problem will then be to keep the masses occupied and content. People must engage in purposeful activities, or they go crazy. So what will the useless class do all day?

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May 27, 2017

Automation Could Lead to the World’s Smartest Society

Posted by in categories: economics, education, employment, robotics/AI

The Opportunity of Automation

“Ideally, what should be said to every child, repeatedly, throughout his or her school life is something like this: ‘You are in the process of being indoctrinated. We have not yet evolved a system of education that is not a system of indoctrination. We are sorry, but it is the best we can do. What you are being taught here is an amalgam of current prejudice and the choices of this particular culture. The slightest look at history will show how impermanent these must be. You are being taught by people who have been able to accommodate themselves to a regime of thought laid down by their predecessors. It is a self-perpetuating system. Those of you who are more robust and individual than others will be encouraged to leave and find ways of educating yourself — educating your own judgements. Those that stay must remember, always, and all the time, that they are being moulded and patterned to fit into the narrow and particular needs of this particular society.” – Dori Lessing in The Golden Notebook.

Continue reading “Automation Could Lead to the World’s Smartest Society” »

May 27, 2017

Mark Zuckerberg Just Voiced His Support for Universal Basic Income

Posted by in categories: economics, innovation

  • Mark Zuckerberg spoke at Harvard’s commencement, saying that basic income is an “idea worth exploring.”
  • With his endorsement of UBI, Zuckerberg joins a growing list of experts and innovators who believe supporting basic human needs must precede innovation.

This week Mark Zuckerberg spoke to the latest class of Harvard graduates, offering advice about the future and inspiration to grow on. Among his ideas was the notion that universal basic income (UBI), a standard base “salary” for each member of society that can help meet our basic needs regardless of the work we do, is worth exploring.

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May 27, 2017

Pensions time-bomb for world’s biggest economies could explode to $400 trillion, says WEF

Posted by in categories: economics, life extension

Future generations are on course to become enveloped in the biggest pension crisis in history, according to the World Economic Forum (WEF), unless policymakers from the world’s leading economies take urgent action.

The Geneva-based organization predicted the challenges of an ageing population could result in the world’s largest economies being forced to tackle a pension time-bomb.

Analysis from WEF showed six countries with the biggest pensions, including the U.S., Canada, U.K., Netherlands, Japan and Australia, as well as the two most densely populated countries in the world – China and India – would face a retirement savings gap in excess of $400 trillion in 2050, up from around $70 trillion in 2015.

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May 25, 2017

NASA Just Fast-Tracked Its Mission to Explore a $10,000 Quadrillion Metal Asteroid

Posted by in categories: economics, space

The science community just figured out why we wont actually be doing space mining, until capitalism is no longer a factor anyways.


It might have just pushed back its manned mission to Mars, but NASA just fast-tracked a planned journey to 16 Psyche — an asteroid made almost entirely of nickel-iron metal.

Estimated to contain $10,000 quadrillion in iron alone, if we could somehow mine Psyche’s minerals and bring them back to Earth, it would collapse our comparatively puny global economy of $78 trillion many times over. Fortunately for the economic stability of our planet, NASA plans on looking but not extracting.

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May 24, 2017

I’ve just returned from some busy travels and I’m still dealing with my own father’s recent death, so I’m a bit late with this post, but legendary futurist Jacque Fresco passed away last week

Posted by in categories: economics, futurism

He was 101 years old. I had the honor to meet Jacque and Roxanne Meadows last year at The Venus Project in Florida. I wrote an extensive article for Vice Motherboard on Jacque and the Resource-based economy: https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/eliminating-money…chnoutopia And Now This Future did a video on my visit with him that now has 14 million views and over 180,000 Facebook shares: https://www.facebook.com/NowThisFuture/videos/1500983249942850/ I’m grateful I met Jacque. He was an amazing person! And his important work will live on.

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May 23, 2017

China’s belt and road infrastructure plan also includes science

Posted by in categories: economics, engineering, nanotechnology, quantum physics, robotics/AI, science, sustainability

China is also planning to use the initiative to flex its scientific and engineering muscles, officials made clear at a 2-day Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation that ended yesterday in Beijing. “Innovation is an important force powering development,” Xi said in a speech to the opening session of the forum. And so the initiative will include technical cooperation in fields including artificial intelligence, nanotechnology, quantum computing, and smart cities. He also mentioned the need to pursue economic growth that is in line with sustainable development goals, and that rests on environmentally friendly approaches.


Investment also planned in artificial intelligence, nanotechnology, and other fields.

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May 23, 2017

Self-driving cars could cost America’s professional drivers up to 25,000 jobs a month, Goldman Sachs says

Posted by in categories: economics, employment, robotics/AI, transportation

The full impact of self-driving cars on society is several decades away — but when it hits, the job losses will be substantial for American truck drivers, according to a new report from Goldman Sachs.

When autonomous vehicle saturation peaks, U.S. drivers could see job losses at a rate of 25,000 a month, or 300,000 a year, according to a report from Goldman Sachs Economics Research.

Truck drivers, more so than bus or taxi drivers, will see the bulk of that job loss, according to the report. That makes sense, given today’s employment: In 2014, there were 4 million driver jobs in the U.S., 3.1 million of which were truck drivers, Goldman said. That represents 2 percent of total employment.

Continue reading “Self-driving cars could cost America’s professional drivers up to 25,000 jobs a month, Goldman Sachs says” »

May 20, 2017

Bitcoin closes in on (US) $2000; Why it matters

Posted by in categories: bitcoin, cryptocurrencies, economics, finance, government

At the beginning of 2016, Bitcoin was fairly steady at $430. Richelle Ross predicted that it would finish the year at $650. She would have been right, if the year had ended in November. During 2016, Bitcoin’s US dollar exchange rose from $433 to $1000. In the past 2 months (March 24~May 20, 2017), Bitcoin has tacked on 114%, rising from $936 to $2000. [continue below image]…

If this were stock in a corporation, I would recommend liquidating or cutting back on holdings. But the value of Bitcoin is not tied to the future earnings or property value of an organization. In this case, supply demand is fueled—in part—by speculation. Yes, of course. But, it is also fueled by a two-sided network built on the growing base of utilitarian adoption. And not just an adoption fad, but adoption that mirrors the shift in our very understanding of bookkeeping, trust and transparency.

Despite problems of growth, governance and regulation, Bitcoin is more clearly taking its place as the future of money. Even if it never becomes “legal tender” in any country—and is used only as a mechanism of payments and settlement, it is still woefully undervalued. $2000 is not an end-game. It is a beginning.

Philip Raymond co-chairs Crypsa & The Bitcoin Event. He is columnist & board member at Lifeboat Foundation,
editor at WildDuck and is delivering the keynote address at the 2017 Digital Currency Summit in Johannesburg.