Will Robots Eat Our Jobs?

Posted on June 9, 2015 by AccountMate

June 9, 2015

“There is no shortage of angst about the relentless advance of digital technology and what it means for the work force, if not humanity,” writes The New York Times (June 8, 2015). Dire warnings have come from no less than Elon Musk, Stephen Hawking and Bill Gates. So, to paraphrase many recent headlines, “will robots eat our jobs?”

Not necessarily, according to two new entries to the debate. One is a lengthy cover article in The Harvard Business Review (June, 2015), “Beyond Automation: Strategies for Remaining Gainfully Employed in an Era of Very Smart Machines” The other is a new McKinsey study, “A Labor Market That Works: Connecting Talent With Opportunity in the Digital Age.”

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Disney Brings Hi-tech Magic to the Magic Kingdom

Posted on April 29, 2015 by AccountMate

April 29, 2015

by Barry Render

It was February 2011, and Disney’s CEO, Bob Iger, gathered his board of directors. Iger set his sites on his boldest gamble yet: to reinvent Disney’s iconic parks. He planned to pump $1 billion into MyMagic+, a sweeping plan to overhaul the digital infrastructure of Disney’s theme parks, which would upend how they operated and connected with consumers. At the core was the MagicBand, an electronic wristband that could digitally carry everything a guest might need—park tickets, photos, coupons, even money. It would give guests entry to Disney World, pay for goods at retail shops, and unlock their hotel room doors. “It would be a virtual key to the Magic Kingdom,” writes Fast Company (May, 2015).

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