*By Conor White*
Automation doesn't have to be a job-killer.
That's according to Wade Foster, the CEO of Zapier, which creates technology that allows different workplace apps to communicate with each other.
"The key thing that automation provides is it allows machines to do the things they are really, truly best at," explained Foster in an interview on Cheddar Wednesday. "And then it allows humans the creative angle to work. We're able to find better stories to tell our customers, we're better able to invent new ways of doing things that we haven't done before."
It might be a good thing for those in sectors like technology and media, but others ー those, for example, in manufacturing industries ー will feel the negative effects of technological advances. The World Economic Forum estimates that five million jobs will be lost to automation by 2020. In an interview Wednesday on Cheddar, Foster said it's important not to forget about those workers.
"When you look at blue collar work and things like that, I think we will have to find ways to transition the knowledge that's learned there to help folks find new ways of helping society move forward."
Overall, Foster is optimistic when it comes to automation and about the impact it will have on the world at large.
"Instead of replacing jobs, it's actually helping \[companies\] achieve more, grow revenue," he said. "And in turn they're able to actually create more jobs because they're better able to do things they haven't been able to do before."
For the full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/could-automation-actually-be-good-for-workers).
Jesse Pickard, CEO of The Mind Company, shares how Elevate and Balance are redefining mental fitness with science-backed tools for brainpower and wellness.
Apple has taken down an app that uses crowdsourcing to flag sightings of U.S. immigration agents after coming under pressure from the Trump administration.
Former Cisco Systems CEO John Chambers learned all about technology’s volatile highs and lows as a veteran of the internet’s early boom days during the late 1990s and the ensuing meltdown that followed the mania. And now he is seeing potential signs of the cycle repeating with another transformative technology in artificial intelligence. Chambers is trying take some of the lessons he learned while riding a wave that turned Cisco into the world's most valuable company in 2000 before a crash hammered its stock price and apply them as an investor in AI startups. He recently discussed AI's promise and perils during an interview with The Associated Press.
Tesla reported a surprise increase in sales in the third quarter as the electric car maker likely benefited from a rush by consumers to take advantage of a $7,500 credit before it expired on Sept. 30. The company reported Thursday that sales in the three months through September rose 7% compared to the same period a year ago. The gain follows two quarters of steep declines as people turned off by CEO Elon Musk’s foray into right-wing politics avoided buying his company’s cars and even protested at some dealerships. Sales rose to 497,099 vehicles, compared with 462,890 in the same period last year.
OpenAI could now be the world’s most valuable startup, ahead of Elon Musk’s SpaceX and TikTok parent company ByteDance, after a secondary stock sale designed to retain employees at the ChatGPT maker. Current and former OpenAI employees sold $6.6 billion in shares to a group of investors, pushing the privately held artificial intelligence company’s valuation to $500 billion, according to a source with knowledge of the deal who was not authorized to discuss it publicly. The valuation reflects high expectations for the future of AI technology and continues OpenAI’s remarkable trajectory from its start as a nonprofit research lab in 2015.
Tom’s Guide Editor-in-Chief Mark Spoonauer breaks down Apple & Amazon's latest product drops—what's hot, what's hype, and what really matters for users.
Police in Northern California pulled over a self-driving Waymo taxi after it made an illegal U-turn. But without a driver behind the wheel, they could not issue a moving violation ticket.
With satellites already in orbit, defense contractor L3Harris is standing by to accelerate Trump's executive order. We take an inside look at the technology
Electronic Arts, the video game maker of “Madden NFL,” “The Sims,” and other popular titles, is being acquired and taken private for about $52.5 billion in what could become the largest-ever buyout funded by private-equity firms.
