Will Robots Take Your Job? by Nigel M. de S. Cameron

The Blurb On The Back:

The trend that began with ATMs and do-it-yourself checkouts is moving at lightning speed. Everything from driving to teaching to the care of the elderly and, indeed, code-writing can now be done by smart machines. Conventional wisdom says there will be new jobs to replace those we lose – but is it so simple? And are we ready?

Technology writer and think-tank director Nigel Cameron argues it’s naïve to believe we face a smooth transition. Whether or not there are “new” jobs, we face massive disruption as the jobs millions of us are doing gets outsourced to machines. A twenty-first century “rust belt” will rapidly corrode the labour market and affect literally hundreds of different kinds of jobs simultaneously.

Robots won’t design our future – we will. Yet, shockingly, political leaders and policymakers don’t seem to have this in their line of sight. So how should we assess and prepare for the risks of this unknown future?

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

Nigel M. de S. Cameron is President and CEO of the Center for Policy on Emerging Technologies and this essay is a timely, fascinating and accessible call to action on the part of policy makers to prepare for the impact that the current rate of technological development on employment that had me gripped from beginning to end.

Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.

Will China’s Economy Collapse? by Ann Lee

The Blurb On The Back:

The recent downturn in the Chinese economy has become a focal point of global attention, with some analysts warning that China is edging dangerously close to economic meltdown. Is it possible that the second largest economy in the world could collapse and drag the rest of the world with it?

In this penetrating essay, Ann Lee explains both why China’s economy will not sink us all and the policy options on which it is drawing to mitigate against such a catastrophic scenario. Dissecting with realistic clarity the challenges facing the Chinese economy, she makes a compelling case for its continued robustness in multiple sectors in the years ahead.

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

Ann Lee is a former visiting professor at Peking University and a recognised authority on China’s political economy and in this rose-tinted and slightly complacent essay, she argues that China is essentially a special economic case that will not collapse as western economists fear because structurally it has mechanisms in place to prevent it.

WILL CHINA’S ECONOMY FAIL? was released in the United Kingdom on 16th June 2017. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book