ITx Rutherford

Innovation x Technology x Education

ITx Rutherford focuses on innovation, technology and education and brings IT professionals, decision-makers, leaders and academics together under one roof. it is where industry, academia and government come together to network, learn and engage.

ITx Rutherford 2019 features two conferences in one:

• ITP 2019 - the conference of software and tech professionals in New Zealand
• CITRENZ 2019 - NZ's leading applied IT academic conference

Should we fear the robots... or be worried they won’t arrive?

On Friday 11 October at 11am Dave Heatley from the Productivity Commission will be presenting on whether we should fear the robots. Here is more information on this session:

How will technological change influence work in New Zealand over the next 10 to 15 years? The Government has asked the Productivity Commission to investigate. There is wide concern that automation technologies using artificial intelligence will make workers, or even work itself, redundant. But early evidence suggests that these worries are misplaced, at least in the medium term.

Instead, perhaps we should be more worried about losing out on the wider economic benefits of technology diffusion without sufficient investment in new technology. What policy changes might encourage – or be less discouraging to – technology adoption and its attendant benefits? And what policies might best compensate those negatively affected, either directly or indirectly?