“A suggestion box? That’s the best way to trivialize the concept of innovation!” – Jim Carroll
OMG!!!! Man is DOOMED by the Machine Age! Giant Robot Brains Are Destroying Jobs!
We live in terrifying times! Terrifying headlines! We’re all going to lose our jobs! The juggernaut of automation has us all in its sights!
Everywhere we turn, there’s terror in the news. Is it real, is it fake? I don’t know, but it sure seems that 2017 is the year of the big job automation disruption!
What should we do! Let’s come up with some sort of plan to help all these displaced workers! A big dialog is necessary. Plans. Guaranteed income strategies. Things like that.
OMG! It’s pretty clear that mankind is doomed by the era of automation! Doomed by the machine age!
After all, machines are destroying jobs! There are photos! Pictures even!
It’s even the end of jobs for musicians!
Not only that, but robot brains are even coming up with story plots, having a dreadful impact on creative industries!
And hey, maybe we shouldn’t worry — we can all just enjoy all the extra leisure time that we are going to have.
Look maybe everybody should calm down some.
The older images in this post are from Modern Mechanix and Popular Science, from the 1930’s.
I’m sorry, I don’t want to seem insensitive or anything, but can every body just calm down with all the hysteria about this issue?
Yes, there are serious issues at work here. And yes, the future happens. But as I wrote in my other blog post, Things That Won’t Happen in 2017: and What it Means,:
- AI and robots aren’t going to make a lot of jobs disappear in 2017. People are freaking out about this one everywhere! This idea is perhaps one of the defining trends observations of 2016: that sweeping technological change – parituclarly AI and robotics — is going to render countless jobs, professions and skills obsolete. It’s certainly going to become real, and this is a pretty significant and profound trend. But like these other trends, it isn’t something that is going to happen with split-second instantaneity. Also, missing in this conversation is the reality at the same time that existing jobs and careers disappear, we are seeing the emergence of all kinds of new jobs and careers.
Consider that last bit of that phrase: the reality at the same time that existing jobs and careers disappear, we are seeing the emergence of all kinds of new jobs and careers.
Yes, automation has destroyed jobs in manufacturing and countless other industries. And yet, there are many new jobs in manufacturing and elsewhere. New jobs and careers being created, right before our very eyes.
That’s always been the case in the past. Will be in the future.
Can there be some rational discussion around this stuff?
And maybe, just maybe, it might be a good time for some tools to test the intellect of many of those at the forefront of the hysteria. There’s a tool for that. Click to enlarge….
Accelerating Leadership: Here’s a CEO/Board Strategy Session with Futurist Jim Carroll!
While I find myself doing keynotes in Las Vegas, Orlando and Phoenix for audiences of up to 7,000, I also regularly do a whole series of small, CEO or Board meetings that are focused on future trends, strategies and opportunities.
I’m thouroughly enjoying myself while preparing for an upcoming 2017 event in this space; I’ve been retained by an organization that is having an offsite with its leadership team and Board that will be impacted by trends in the automative industry. I’ve had several preparatory calls with the Chairman — he obviously gets the opportunities and challenges of disruption. These include what I call introductory ‘should-we-dance’ calls (‘should we book this guy?’), as well as planing calls now that the event is confirmed.
For a recent conference call, I’ve prepared an outline of my approach. You might find it a good overview if you are looking for a session that would involve similar insight for your senior leadership/Board team!
You can access the Pdf [icon name=”file-pdf-o” class=”” unprefixed_class=””]
Talent 2017: The Right Skills, at the Right Time, for the Right Purpose!
So … there’s lots of talk about the future of jobs, careers, automation, the disappearance of jobs, and the emergence of new jobs. It seems to be one of the issues for 2016, and no doubt, will continue into the future.
I’ve been all over the topic for over 20 years, and am often engaged by small groups of senior executives at Fortune 500 companies to help interpret the trends.
One of my more fascinating events in 2016 was a small, high-level human resource/talent conference in Chicago organized by Whirlpool and Aon Hewitt. I had a lot of heavy hitters human resource executives in the room for my talk around future talent and HR issues. Senior VP’s of Human Resources for such companies as Owens Corning, Eli Lilly, Capital One, Proctor & Gamble, Goodyear Tire, Arcelor/Mittal, AT&T, Colgate Palmolive, Hewlett Packard, Intel, John Deere, Raytheon, Shell International, Sunoco, Boeing, Stryker, Target, Yum! Brands and more. Whew! A small, intimate group of people responsible for managing the talent and human capital requirements for companies worth, perhaps, several trillion dollars in market capital.
(This is typical of many of the low key senior leadership meetings that I do. For example, I had a session on the impact of business model disruption as technology comes to define the future of every industry. In the room, I had the Chief Information Officer’s for such companies as Johnson & Johnson, American Airlines, Siemens, Elsever, Owens Corning, Nationwide Mutual, Marriott International, MetLife, Cardinal Health, Chubb, Merck & Co, and Progressive Insurance!)
Many global organizations have had me in for a keynote at leadership meetings of their entire HR team, including Deloitte, Lockheed Martin, Johnson & Johnson (after they saw me in this session above), Honeywell, and others. I’ve also headlined many major human capital conferences over the years.
It’s these types of events that give me a front row seat to the high velocity change that is occurring as disruption comes to take hold of every industry and eery organization. And with that pace of change, I’m a big believer that the success of organizations in the future will come from human skills agility. I caught this years ago in one key comment: “In the high velocity economy, talent, not money, will be the new corporate battlefront. Your ability to deploy the right skills at the right time for the right purpose will define your future opportunity.”
What did my keynote at the Chicago event focus on? It’s best captured in a great graphic, done in real time, of my key themes. Click the image for a high-resolution image — its’ worth a visit!
Need more insight into human capital and skills issues? Visit the Human Capital section of my Web site for more!
Daily Inspiration: “The Wall Street Journal just reported that we’re out of big ideas. I don’t believe it’s true at all. Prove that to them next year: through your actions, show them that it’s just another form of fake news!”
“The Wall Street Journal just reported that we’re out of big ideas. I don’t believe it’s true at all. Prove that to them next year: through your actions, show them that it’s just another form of fake news!” – Futurist Jim Carroll
Daily Inspiration: “If you don’t golf, do this: try to win the ‘most honest golfers’ team award at your next corporate or association or golf event. That’s because it is more important to try and do something you are not good at, than to not do anything at all”
“If you don’t golf, do this: try to win the ‘most honest golfers’ team award at your next corporate or association or golf event. That’s because it is more important to try and do something you are not good at, than to not do anything at all” – Futurist Jim Carroll
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