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  • Walter's Blog.
  • Home
  • Introduction
  • About Walter
    • 1980 Joining Up - Grafton Street >
      • Arrival and First Impressions
      • First Week
      • Training
      • Passing Out
    • Yaumati Cowboy >
      • Getting on the Streets
      • Tempo of the City
      • Jumpers, pill poppers and the indoor BBQ
      • Into a Minefield.
    • Why Tango in Paris, when you can Foxtrot in Kowloon? >
      • Baptism By Fire
      • Kai Tak with Mrs Thatcher.
      • Home; The Boy Returns
  • 1984 - 1986
    • PTU Instructor & Getting Hitched
    • Having a go: SDU
    • Starting a Chernobyl family
    • EOD - Don't touch anything
    • Semen Stains and the rules
  • 1987 to 1992 - Should I Stay or Go?
    • Blue Lights, Sirens & Grenades
    • Drugs, Broken Kids & A Plane Crash
    • 600 Happy Meals Please!
    • Hong Kong's Best Insurance
    • Riding the Iron Horse
  • Crime in Hong Kong
    • Falling Crime Rates - Why?
    • Triads
  • History of Hong Kong Policing
    • History 1841 to 1941
    • History 1945 to 1967
    • Anatomy of the 50 cent Riot - 1966
    • The Fall of a Commissioner.
    • History 1967 to 1980
    • Three Wise Men from the West
    • The Blue Berets.
    • The African Korps and other tribes.
    • Getting About - Transport.
    • A Pub in every station
    • Bullshit Bingo & Meetings
    • Godber - The one who nearly got away.
    • Uncle Ho
  • Top 20 Films
    • 2001 - A Space Odyssey.
    • The Godfather.
    • Blade Runner
    • Kes
    • Star Wars
    • Aliens
    • Ferris Bueller's Day Off
    • The Life of Brian
    • Dr Strangelove.
    • Infernal Affairs
    • Bridge on the River Kwai.
    • This Is Spinal Tap.
    • Chung King Express
    • An Officer and a Gentleman
    • PTU
    • Contact
    • Saving Private Ryan
    • Family Guy Star Wars
    • Zulu
    • Hard Day's Night
  • The Long Read
    • How The Walls Come Down
    • War in Ukraine - the narrative and other stuff.
    • The Hidden Leader
    • The Big Game
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Reflections on recent events, plus the occasional fact free rant unfiltered by rational argument. 

"If you want to read a blog to get a sense of what is going on in Hong Kong these days or a blog that would tell you wh at life was like living in colonial Hong Kong, this blog, WALTER'S BLOG, fits the bill."  Hong Kong Blog Review

7/5/2017 0 Comments

Algorithms and Robots - the changing face of work

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“They fuck you up, your mum and dad. They may not mean to, but they do” to quote Philip Larkin, the Hermit of Hull. Well, I almost ‘fucked up’ my youngest daughter's chances of employment. She was in her late teens. Going through one of her periodic rebellious phases that mark those troublesome years. Locked in her room, head in a computer, I grew frustrated as it appeared she was neglecting her studies. 

Frustrated at her surly attitude, in a fit of anger, I cut the cable for her internet connection. Resolute and steadfast, I’d made my point. Meanwhile, unknown to me in an instant she’d connected to the wifi in an adjacent apartment. On she continued with her internet work. In the end this secured her a place at university and in the modern world of work. Again, unbeknown to me she’d created several websites. Her internet presence earned her credits. She now does a job that didn’t exist 10 years ago.

All this came rushing back to me.  The headline was “70% of Australians are studying for jobs that won’t exist in a decade”. It's already happening. The industrial revolution was the last big flip in work.  Then we moved from agrarian based jobs to city based factory work with all its spin-offs. With it, the rustic life that dominated most societies was gone forever. Yet, this is nothing new as we have always evolved work. Except that the pace of that change is now much quicker. Plus, we don’t appear to be getting ready for it. 
The research suggests that up to 50% of the jobs that currently exist will be lost to automation within 10 years. It’s even possible to predict which jobs will be hardest hit. Accounting clerks and bookkeepers will disappear. Likewise checkout operators, general administration staff and wood machinists. Most of these positions will be filled by automated processes based on algorithms. Meanwhile, factory work will decline further as more sophisticated robots appear. 

Even the medical profession will see increased automation. Screening of symptoms is already underway. The next step will be precise diagnoses, then the assignment of treatment. Don’t forget that doctors interpret your symptoms by a process of elimination. Then determine likely ailments. An algorithm can do this well and much quicker. Plus, it has the advantage of being available 24/7, it doesn't get tired and should be cheaper. Doctors will still be needed, but the role will be even more specialised. 

Today's kids need digital skills. Australia reckons that 50% of college level students will need advanced skills. This means they can configure and build systems. This should be a wake-up call for Hong Kong, where the education system is stuck in the past with rote learning. Imagination, innovation and flexibility are the skills future workers need. Alarm bells should now be ringing across the Hong Kong education system. Why? Because it's a system that discourages innovation. Kids either comply or be considered disruptive trouble makers. In short, Hong Kong’s education system is setting us up for failure.

No profession is going to be safe from the power of algorithms. Most processes can be automated, even thinking and judgment. The challenge is to create a world that keeps humans engaged, doing something useful. We survived the switch from hunter-gatherer, we survived the industrial revolution. We will survive this change if we move beyond our old thinking and don’t cut the internet cable!​

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    Walter De Havilland was one of the last of the colonial coppers. He served 35 years in the Royal Hong Kong Police and Hong Kong Police Force. He's long retired. 

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