Lifeboat Foundation: Safeguarding Humanity
Toggle light / dark theme

Blog

Category: employment – Page 53

Bay Area-based Rapid Robotics today announced a $12 million Series A. The new round, led by NEA, brings the company’s total funding up to $17.5 million. It joins a recently closed seed round, announced way back in November of last year. Existing investors Greycroft, Bee Partners and 468 Capital also took part in the round.

We noted at that stage that COVID-19 had a sizable impact on robotics investment. At the very least, the pandemic has served to accelerate interest in automation, as many “non-essential” workers have been unable to travel to their jobs. At present, manufacturing jobs often lack the ability to perform remotely.

Rapid notes that the company’s tech has been involved with the production of some 50 million parts over the past year, over a wide variety of different manufacturing verticals. And, like his predecessor, President Biden has already begun talking up strategies to return manufacturing jobs to the U.S. Of course, ambitious as it might be, any plan is going to have to be a balancing act between human jobs and automation.

Read more | >

New data from Children’s National Hospital shows parental experience with a number of social determinants of health can ultimately impact brain development in utero, something researchers said should suggest future community health intervention among pregnant people. The data, published in JAMA Network Open, specifically found poorer brain development in fetuses among pregnant people with low socioeconomic status (SES), low educational attainment, and limited employment opportunity.

New data from Children’s National Hospital has found that social determinants of health like income, education, and occupation can impact fetal brain development, following that child into life.

Read more | >

In Wednesday’s announcement, StemExpress CEO Cate Dyer said the COVID-19 pandemic created new demand for her company’s expertise. “When the pandemic first hit, we reached out to the federal government and started looking at ways we could help take seven of our laboratories around the United States and start offering COVID testing on a local basis, not only to support nursing homes, but Indian Tribal Communities as well as just the general public.”

PayCertify is a financial technology (FinTech) firm that “encompasses both a complete merchant and consumer experience front to back, pulling analytics and valuable insights to connect data sets in real-time from both the consumer and merchant side of the transaction.”

The two companies are expected to bring a combined 200 biotech and fintech jobs to the region.

Read more | >

A study of a guaranteed income program in Stockton, California, found that after receiving an extra $500 in cash each month for a year, recipients had better job prospects and improved mental health.

As part of the Stockton Economic Empowerment Demonstration (SEED) pilot program, 125 people in the California city received $500 per month for 24 months starting in February 2019. The program, initiated by former Mayor Michael Tubbs, chose recipients in neighborhoods at or below the city’s median household income of $46033. The money, in prepaid debit cards, was unconditional, meaning people could spend it as they chose.

A study released Wednesday based on the first year of the project, from February 2019 to February 2020, found that beneficiaries got full-time jobs at over twice the rate of non-recipients, were less anxious and depressed over time, and reported improvements in emotional health, well-being and fatigue.

Read more | >

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — After getting $500 per month for two years without rules on how to spend it, 125 people in California paid off debt, got full-time jobs and had “statistically significant improvements” in emotional health, according to a study released Wednesday.

The program was the nation’s highest-profile experiment in decades of universal basic income, an idea that was revived as a major part of Andrew Yang’s 2020 campaign for president.

The idea is to bring people out of poverty with a guaranteed monthly income. Supporters say it gives people needed financial security to find good jobs and avoid debt. But critics have argued free money would eliminate the incentive to work, creating a society dependent on the state.

Read more | >

Welcome to the latest edition of our 3D printing jobs and career moves update for the additive manufacturing sector.

If you are looking for a new position in the industry, we keep our 3D Printing job board updated with the latest positions. You can easily apply to any of the posted jobs after creating a free profile. If you are just about to enter the sector, we offer a guide on how to get a job in the 3D printing industry.

The 3D Printing Industry jobs board is also free to use for employers to find 3D printing experts for their businesses.

Read more | >

The Colorado Economic Development Commission normally doesn’t throw its weight behind unproven startups, but it did so on Thursday, approving $2.9 million in state job growth incentive tax credits to try and land a manufacturing plant that will produce hardware for quantum computers.

“Given the broad applications and catalytic benefits that this company’s technology could bring, retaining this company would help position Colorado as an industry leader in next-generation and quantum computing,” Michelle Hadwiger, the deputy director of the Colorado Office of Economic Development & International Trade, told commissioners.

Project Quantum, the codename for the Denver-based startup, is looking to create up to 726 new full-time jobs in the state. Most of the positions would staff a new facility making components for quantum computers, an emerging technology expected to increase computing power and speed exponentially and transform the global economy as well as society as a whole.

Read more | >

Author and entrepreneur Jeff Wald discusses his book “The End of Jobs: The Rise of On-Demand Workers and The Agile Corporation,” on the latest Seeking Delphi™ podcast. The conclusions may not be what you anticipate from the title…

“There’s a lot of automation that can happen that isn’t a replacement of humans but of mind-numbing behavior.” –Stewart Butterworth

“Automation is going to cause unemployment, and we better prepare for it.”–Mark Cuban

In an early standup routine, Woody Allen once joked that when his father came home to announce that his job on an assembly line was replaced by a 50-dollar part, what was really disturbing was that his mother immediately ran out and bought one of those parts. As funny as that may be, the potential loss of millions of jobs to automation is no joking matter. The fears of such abound as automation, robotics and artificial intelligence continue to invade the world of work. But the scenarios for the future of human employment may be far more nuanced than you might expect. In this episode of Seeking Delphi™ entrepreneur and author Jeff Wald discusses his view of the future of work, as outlined in his book The End of Jobs: The Rise of On-demand Workers and the Agile Corporation. You can subscribe to Seeking Delphi™ on Apple podcasts, PlayerFM, MyTuner, Listen Notes, and YouTube. You can also follow us on twitter @Seeking_Delphi and Facebook.

Read more | >