Daily Archives: August 16, 2017

Alternative medicine has its own benefits – The Straits Times

Posted: August 16, 2017 at 6:14 pm

I was terribly disturbed by the report (More harm than good; Aug 15) which gave the impression that nearly all complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) are harmful.

This will potentially deprive patients of an avenue to seek better outcomes for their health conditions.

The report mentions studies that were carried out, but as we know studies can be biased, depending on who funds them. It is nice to give a textbook answer but what is more important is to find out whether CAM benefited the patient, and if so, in what way.

The news report cites studies on arthritis and how patients had suffered from delayed treatment because they had first sought CAM.

However, I have also seen patients recover solely from diet change and herbs.

I agree that herbs may interact with medications. This is why patients should seek qualified CAM professionals for advice, who are also trained in herb-drug interactions.

In contrast, most medical doctors are not trained professionally in herbs and diet.

I am not trying to defend CAM. All kinds of medicines, whether is conventional or natural has value and we should not drive a wedge between the two groups.

Sebastian Liew

View post:

Alternative medicine has its own benefits - The Straits Times

Posted in Alternative Medicine | Comments Off on Alternative medicine has its own benefits – The Straits Times

Alternative medicine doubles risk of cancer death – Australian Journal of Pharmacy (registration) (blog)

Posted: at 6:14 pm

Researchers from the Cancer Outcomes, Public Policy and Effectiveness Research (COPPER) Center at Yale School of Medicine and Yale Cancer Center studied 840 patients with breast, prostate, lung, and colorectal cancer in the National Cancer Database (NCDB) a joint project of the Commission on Cancer of the American College of Surgeons and the American Cancer Society.

The NCDB represents about 70% of newly diagnosed cancers across the United States.

The researchers compared 280 patients who chose alternative medicine to 560 patients who had received conventional cancer treatment. The patients were diagnosed from 2004 to 2013.

Conventional treatment was defined as chemotherapy, radiotherapy, surgery and/or hormone therapy. Use of alternative therapies was undertaken alone, rather than in conjunction with conventional treatment.

The patients who used alternative therapies alone were two and a half times more likely to die within five years of their diagnosis: 54.7% compared to 78.3% of those who used conventional therapies were still alive at the end of five years.

The risk of death spiked to 5.68 times more likely for those with breast cancer who used only alternative treatments.

The growth of interest in pursuing alternative medicine instead of conventional cancer treatment has created a difficult situation, the researchers say; there is limited research evaluating the effectiveness of alternative medicine.

We became interested in this topic after seeing too many patients present in our clinics with advanced cancers that were treated with ineffective and unproven alternative therapies alone, said the studys senior author, Dr.James B. Yu, associate professor of therapeutic radiology at Yale Cancer Center.

Lead author Dr Skyler Johnson said that the research provides evidence that using alternative medicine in place of proven cancer therapies results in worse survival.

It is our hope that this information can be used by patients and physicians when discussing the impact of cancer treatment decisions on survival.

Dr. Cary Gross, co-author of the study, called for further research, adding, Its important to note that when it comes to alternative cancer therapies, there is just so little known patients are making decisions in the dark.

We need to understand more about which treatments are effective whether were talking about a new type of immunotherapy or a high-dose vitamin and which ones arent, so that patients can make informed decisions.

The research was published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

See the article here:

Alternative medicine doubles risk of cancer death - Australian Journal of Pharmacy (registration) (blog)

Posted in Alternative Medicine | Comments Off on Alternative medicine doubles risk of cancer death – Australian Journal of Pharmacy (registration) (blog)

Talk to your doctor before taking supplements – CapeGazette.com

Posted: at 6:13 pm

Q. I've been reading about athletes using steroids to build themselves up. Do these drugs work for older men?

First, some background on steroids. There are two types of steroids: corticosteroids and anabolic steroids. Corticosteroids, such as cortisone and prednisone, are drugs that help control inflammation. Anabolic steroids, such as androstenedione or andro, are substances that can help the body make muscle.

Corticosteroids, which are like hormones that your adrenal glands produce to fight stress, are used to treat arthritis, asthma, lupus, multiple sclerosis, eczema and some kinds of cancer.

Anabolic steroids are drugs that are like the body's natural male sex hormone testosterone. Testosterone directs the body to produce or enhance male characteristics. Medical uses of anabolic steroids include some hormone problems in men, late puberty and muscle loss from some diseases.

When anabolic steroids increase the levels of testosterone in the blood, they stimulate muscle tissue in the body to grow larger and stronger. The effects of too much testosterone can be harmful. Some of the negative effects are rage, liver disease, high cholesterol, severe acne, baldness and infertility.

So-called natural steroids such as DHEA that are sold as over-the-counter supplements at many health food stores can have the same harmful effects as synthetic steroids. The only difference between natural and synthetic steroids is that synthetic steroids are made in a lab and are chemically altered.

Prior to January 2005, anabolic steroid supplements containing androstenedione also were available at health food stores. Because of safety issues, however, these supplements now cannot be sold without a prescription.

Because some hormone levels drop with age, there's a theory that this decline causes us to age. Declining levels of testosterone, the male sex hormone, have been linked with decreased energy and sex drive, muscle weakness and osteoporosis. But, can you reverse aging by restoring your hormones?

DHEA (dehydroepiandrosterone) is a hormone secreted by the adrenal gland. DHEA levels in the body begin to decrease after age 30. Your body converts DHEA into the sex hormones estrogen and testosterone. Proponents say it slows aging, increases muscle and bone strength, burns fat, improves cognition, bolsters immunity and protects against chronic diseases.

There is no convincing medical evidence to support these claims about DHEA. Even short-term use of DHEA may cause liver damage.

There is sufficient evidence supporting the use of DHEA in the treatment of adrenal insufficiency, depression, induction of labor, and lupus.

There is a lack of available studies on the long-term effects of DHEA. However, DHEA may cause higher-than-normal levels of androgens and estrogens in the body, and theoretically may increase the risk of prostate, breast, ovarian, and other hormone-sensitive cancers. Therefore, it is not recommended for regular use without supervision by a licensed healthcare professional.

Don't believe advertisements that tell you supplements are natural remedies, implying that they can't hurt you. Some people try supplements such as coral calcium, ginseng and echinacea to stop aging. There isn't any evidence to support the claims for these supplements either.

Talk to your doctor before taking any supplement. Ingredients in supplements can cause harmful interactions with your medications, and serious side effects.

Read the original:

Talk to your doctor before taking supplements - CapeGazette.com

Posted in Food Supplements | Comments Off on Talk to your doctor before taking supplements – CapeGazette.com

First pass for Minehunter Service Life Extension – Australian Defence – Australian Defence Magazine

Posted: at 6:12 pm

The Commonwealth has granted First Pass approval to extend the service life for Navys Huon Class Minehunter Coastal vessels, and Thales Australia is to deliver and support new deployable mine countermeasures (MCM) over the next 15 years.

The Head of Navy Capability, Rear Admiral Jonathan Mead, said the project forecast in the Defence White Paper 2016 will ensure Defence is able to provide an effective maritime mine countermeasure capability out to the 2030s.

Minehunters play a vital role in protecting Australias ships, harbours and infrastructure from the threat of sea mines, RADM Mead said.

First Pass approval is a major milestone for this project that will see the life of the Minehunters extended to ensure there is no gap in mine warfare capability as we determine the replacement vessels.

The Huon Class have proven highly capable, supporting Defences international engagement strategy through participation in exercises and operations to secure our sea lanes and disposing of WWII explosive remnants, and they will continue to serve Australia for years to come.

In addition to its mine warfare role, the Huon Class vessels play a unique role in Defence assistance to the civil community and in 2011 provided support in response to severe flooding in Queensland, including the disposal of debris that posed a navigational hazard, RADM Mead said.

The Australian Defence industry will be heavily involved in the future of the platforms. Negotiations are underway with Thales Australia to engage them as the Prime Systems Integrator to deliver the project. Under Thales lead there will be opportunities for other Australian companies to support the Minehunters through their service life.

The Huon class were built by Thales Australia, formerly ADI, and were introduced into service in the early 2000s.

With regard to deployable MCM, RADM Mead said the prevalence and increasing sophistication of sea mines means the RAN must continue to improve the way it finds and disposes of these mines.

New autonomous and remote-controlled technologies deployed from within the maritime task force provides the opportunity to find and dispose of sea mines more safely and efficiently, RADM Mead said.

In the 2030s, Defence will seek to replace its specialised mine hunting and environmental survey vessels with a single fleet of multi-role vessels embarking advanced autonomous and uninhabited systems.

RADM Mead said these newly introduced systems are the first step in realising a future capability which would allow the Royal Australian Navy to clear sea mines with minimal risk to its people and assets.

Thales Australia Ltd will deliver and support the new equipment over the next 15 years, RADM Mead said.

The new capability will primarily be based and sustained at HMASWaterhenin Sydney, NSW.

Read more:

First pass for Minehunter Service Life Extension - Australian Defence - Australian Defence Magazine

Posted in Life Extension | Comments Off on First pass for Minehunter Service Life Extension – Australian Defence – Australian Defence Magazine

Doxycycline time release capsules – Shelf life extension program doxycycline – Filipino Express

Posted: at 6:12 pm

Doxycycline time release capsules - Shelf life extension program doxycycline
Filipino Express
Doxycycline and yellowing of teeth - was and is any energy not what player. (phosphodiesterase-5 both taken better. to bejesus get. got are the to was the potency, a baked had bb Staxyn disrupted many use. truck is wait they Shadows. The sie 12 will ...

and more »

Go here to see the original:

Doxycycline time release capsules - Shelf life extension program doxycycline - Filipino Express

Posted in Life Extension | Comments Off on Doxycycline time release capsules – Shelf life extension program doxycycline – Filipino Express

Australian Navy receives first pass approval for Huon-class minehunters – Naval Technology

Posted: at 6:12 pm

The Government of Australia has granted first pass approval for the service life extension of the Royal Australian Navy's (RAN) Huon-class minehunter coastal vessels.

Navy Capability head rear admiral Jonathan Mead said that the project will ensure that the RAN is capable of providing an effective maritime mine countermeasure capability by 2030.

Mead said: Minehunters play a vital role in protecting Australias ships, harbours and infrastructure from the threat of sea mines.

First Pass approval is a major milestone for this projectthat will see the life of the minehunters extended to ensure there is no gap in mine warfare capability as we determine the replacement vessels.

"First Pass approval is a major milestone for this project that will see the life of the minehunters extended to ensure there is no gap in mine warfare capability."

The Huon-class have proven highly capable, supporting defences international engagement strategy through participation in exercises and operations to secure our sea lanes and disposing of Second World War explosive remnants, and they will continue to serve Australia for years to come.

The Australian Navys Huon-class ships also provide defence assistance to the civil community.

Thales Australia originally constructed the vessels, which came into service with the RAN in the early 2000s.

Negotiations are currently underway with Thalesto contract the company as theprime systems integrator forthe project.

The Huon-class minehunter coastal ships previously provided support during severe flooding in Queensland in 2011, including disposal of debris.

Original post:

Australian Navy receives first pass approval for Huon-class minehunters - Naval Technology

Posted in Life Extension | Comments Off on Australian Navy receives first pass approval for Huon-class minehunters – Naval Technology

US cities rush to take down Confederate monuments after Charlottesville – The Independent

Posted: at 6:11 pm

In the fallout from the violent rally in Charlottesville last weekend, a renewed sense of urgency to remove Confederate monuments has taken hold in towns and municipalities across the country.

Under the cover of darkness, workers in Baltimore removed four statues memorialising Confederate figures, after the city council voted unanimously to make moves immediately. Statues in Lexington, Kentucky, are set to be taken down as well, pending approval from a state historical board. A woman in Durham, North Carolina was recently arrested for allegedly tearing down a statue there.

We cannot continue to glorify a war against the United States of America fought in the defence of slavery, North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper later wrote in a post on Medium in what was a light condemnation of the events in Durham, and a call for official action. These monuments should come down.

The movement to take down the statues which some argue represent a violent and racist history, while others say are simply a tribute to Southern heritage echoes the zeitgeist seen in 2015, after nine black churchgoers were murdered in cold blood by a white supremacist hoping to start a race war. Photographs of the killer showed him posing with the Confederate flag, sparking outrage that led to efforts across the South to remove that flag from public grounds. The recent rally in support of keeping a Confederate monument also drew blood, and now the rush to remove the monuments is the topic of discussion in manycommunities with similar statues or plaques.

The debate over Confederate monuments isnt exactly new, however. Public displays honouring Confederate figures and ideas can be seen all across the United States, and many localities have been considering removal for a long time.

There were some victories for the anti-Confederate monument camp in the absence of national tragedy, too: New Orleans removed four statues earlier this year, for example. Activists in Hollywood, Florida, tell The Independent that their years-long effort to rename streets honouring Confederate figures is on the verge of succeeding.

But, the very fact that this is being debated after a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville ostensibly to protest the removal of a statue of Confederate General Robert E Lee turned terribly wrong, shows how polarising the issue can be. Tensions were so high in Charlottesville that the planned rally needed to be disbursed almost immediately after its scheduled starting time, but clashes continued between demonstrators and counter protesters. That violence culminated in the death of a woman after a white supremacist allegedly drove his car through a crowd.

There are more than 1,500 Confederate monuments or symbols on public grounds around the country, according to the Southern Poverty Law Centre. That includes more than 700 monuments, and more than 100 public schools named after Confederate generals.

See the rest here:

US cities rush to take down Confederate monuments after Charlottesville - The Independent

Posted in Zeitgeist Movement | Comments Off on US cities rush to take down Confederate monuments after Charlottesville – The Independent

Personal and Politically Charged, the Press Release for Kara Walker’s New Show Is a Work of Art All by Itself – artnet News

Posted: at 6:11 pm

The title of Kara Walkers upcoming solo exhibition at New Yorks Sikkema Jenkins & Co., even by Walkers baroque standards, is ostentatious: Sikkema Jenkins and Co. is Compelled to present The most Astounding and Important Painting show of the fall Art Show viewing season! But its the extraordinary press release for the show that has already caused a stir on social media.

The first half of the release is written in the style of an old-timey advertisement for a sideshow attraction. It reads, in part, as acritique of the blockbuster status of Walkers previous exhibitions, such as her 2014 Creative Time installation, A Subtlety, or the Marvelous Sugar Baby.

That35-by-75 sculpture, of a conspicuously naked black women rendered in tons and tons of white sugar, seemed to capture the cultural zeitgeist, attracting crowds and becoming an Instagram sensation during its run at an abandoned Brooklyn sugar factory.

Earlier this year, Walker toldNew Yorkmagazine that she was surprised to find that visitors to the exhibition were just as quick to gawk at her, when she stopped by, as at the mammoth sculpture.

That interview also hinted at Walkers struggles with her fame.Were in too much of a celebrity culture, she said, but at least that means I can be a disappointment to others.

Kara Walker, A Subtlety (2014). Courtesy Creative Time/photographer Jason Wyche.

Walker catapulted to fame in 1994, at the age of just 25, with her show at New Yorks Drawing Center, Gone:An Historical Romance of a Civil War as It Occurred btween the Dusky Thighs of One Young Negress and Her Heart. The exhibition introduced her signature, paper cut-outs in the style of vintage silhouettes, depictingcartoonish scenes of horror and debauchery from the Antebellum South.

Famously, that work attracted protest from artists including Betye Saar, a veteran of the Black Arts Movement whose letter condemning Walkers work askedAre African Americans being betrayed under the guise of art?.

Kara Walker, Gone, An Historical Romance of Civil War As it Occurred Between the Dusky Thighs of Young Negress and Her Heart (1994). Courtesy of the Museum of Modern Art.

The new press release preemptively anticipates (or courts) more contemporary criticism, with a tone at once defiant and ironic:

Students of Color will eye her work suspiciously and exercise their free right to Culturally Annihilate her on social media. Parents will cover the eyes of innocent children. School Teachers will reexamine their art history curricula. Prestigious Academic Societies will withdraw their support, former husbands and former lovers will recoil in abject terror. Critics will shake their heads in bemused silence. Gallery Directors will wring their hands at the sight of throngs of the gallery-curious flooding the pavement outside. The Final President of the United States will visibly wince. Empires will fall, although which ones, only time will tell.

Kara Walker, U.S.A. Idioms(2017), detail. Courtesy of Sikkema Jenkins & Co.

But the textthen shifts into a more personal and world-weary register in a second section, in which Walker begins by addressing the motivation for the unusual press release itself:

I dont really feel the need to write a statement about a painting show. I know what you all expect from me and I have complied up to a point. But frankly I am tired, tired of standing up, being counted, tired of having a voice or worse being a role model.

Read the full exhibition press release here:

Kara Walker: Sikkema Jenkins and Co. is Compelled to present The most Astounding and Important Painting show of the fall Art Show viewing season! is on view at Sikkema Jenkins & Co., 530 West 22nd Street, New York, September 7October 14, 2017.

Visit link:

Personal and Politically Charged, the Press Release for Kara Walker's New Show Is a Work of Art All by Itself - artnet News

Posted in Zeitgeist Movement | Comments Off on Personal and Politically Charged, the Press Release for Kara Walker’s New Show Is a Work of Art All by Itself – artnet News

Government is keen on establishing a digital economy – Minister – Ghana News Agency

Posted: at 6:10 pm

By Amadu Kamil Sanah, GNA

Accra, Aug. 16, GNA - Mrs Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, the Minister of Communications, said Government was keen on establishing a digital economy which would improve efficiency of government business.

She said the Ministry of Communications was currently implementing a number of projects under the e-Transform initiative namely e-Immigration, e-Parliament, e-Procurement, Tertiary Institutions Connectivity Programme and e-Justice to achieve that goal.

Mrs Owusu-Ekuful who said at the inauguration of the Board of Directors of the National Information Technology Agency (NITA) in Accra, urged the Board to be proactive and efficient in its operations to ensure success in their endeavour.

The Board, which is chaired by Dr Mohammed-Sani Abdulai, include, Mr Jeffrey Konadu Addo, NITA Acting Director-General, Mr Gerard Nana Kwakwa Osei-Tutu, Dr Gezer Osei Yeboah-Boateng and Mr Emmanuel Mensah-Bonsu.

Other members are Mr Albert Antwi-Boasiako, Ms Ama Daaku, Mr Kwasi Agyei Tabi, and Mr. Ernest Andam Brown.

Section 9(1)(a) of the NITA Act, Act 771, 2008, enjoins members of the Board to submit to the Agency a written declaration that includes details of their shareholdings, debentures or other interests in a company whether directly or indirectly owned, public or charitable appointments as well as directorships held by the member.

The Act also enjoins members to inform the Agency of any change in respect of that members shareholdings, debentures or other interests in the company whether directly or indirectly owned by the member, and not knowingly make a false declaration.

Mrs Owusu-Ekuful said the successful implementation of the e-Transform initiative depended on the efficient management of NITAs infrastructure and call on Board and management to work to ensure high service level attainments.

She said the Ministry of Communication have set a target to enforce the usage of Government Domain name across all Government Agencies and Department for the transaction of official business and NITA is expected to facilitate the achievement of the target.

The Communications Minister said to be able achieve all these targets, NITA needed to operationalise its regulatory mandate which has not been done since the law was passed in 2008.

She said Governments intended to scale up the use of technology at all levels to facilitate the implementation of an Information and Communication Technology (ICT)-led socio-economic agenda for which reason, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo has constituted the Board to deliver on this mandate guided by the principles in the NITA Act of 2008 (Act 771 and Act 778).

Mrs Owusu-Ekuful said the President, in constituting this Board, considered the diverse expertise and experience of members and have no doubt that members would implement innovative strategies to resolve the challenges of the Agency and transform it into an effective organization capable of leading the implementation of the Digital Ghana Agenda.

She said Government has made significant investment in building an extensive ICT infrastructure that has been placed in the care of NITA and expected that this will be managed efficiently and profitably.

The Public Services Commission has approved the administrative structure and scheme of Service to enable NITA engage qualified professionals into the Agency. I entreat the Board to support the management in its effort to build the requisite capacity for the agency.

In view of the urgency of attracting and retaining requisite skilled manpower to manage government IT assets, I urge the Board to reengage the Public Service Commission to improve upon the conditions of service of your staff, she said.

The Minister said, her outfit have informed all Ministries, Departments and Agencies to seek NITAs input before acquiring any IT solution, application, platform or device to ensure the interoperability of the government IT architecture to end the culture of working in silos.

She urged the board to expedite work to ensure effective discharge of its mandate by Setting the standards for all IT applications, systems, devices procured by MMDAS, Enhance your regulatory functions as soon as possible by passing and implementing the requisite LIs and Establish Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) to ensure secure online transactions, enhance delivery of online services and enhance e-government implementation, mindful of the ongoing work in this regard.

They are also to Establish an effective customer complaints unit to address complaints from the public and MDAs on the quality of its service, develop an effective marketing strategy for use of the National Data Centre as a secure and safe infrastructure for data storage, Manage Governments broadband infrastructure effectively to provide efficient services to its client and Recover subscription fees and charges for the supply of Bandwidth to MDAs.

Dr Abdulai assured the Minister of the Boards commitment to re-position NITA by building its human resource based to promote the government digital economy agenda.

He said the Board recognised the importance of ICT in a growing economy and that the responsibility of building a quality service delivery would be achieved through revisiting NITAs business strategy and leverage the Community Information Centres to become learning centres of its various locations.

NITA was set up under the National Information Technology Act (Act 771) of 2008 and mandated to regulate the deployment of ICT, Promote standards in technology applications and ensure high quality of technology service among government agencies at the national, regional and local levels in a harmonized manner.

It is also to Promote private sector partnership in ICT deployment, ensure security of networks at all times, advise the Ministry on policy review in the ICT sector and Investigate, resolve disputes between license holders under the Electronic Transactions Act referred to the Agency by license holders and to certify all agencies established under the Electronic Transactions Act, 2008 (Act 772).

GNA

Read more:

Government is keen on establishing a digital economy - Minister - Ghana News Agency

Posted in Resource Based Economy | Comments Off on Government is keen on establishing a digital economy – Minister – Ghana News Agency

Automation may take our jobsbut it’ll restore our humanity – Quartz

Posted: at 6:09 pm

For humans to survive the automation revolution, we need to double down on our humanity.

The argument goes like this: Artificial intelligence is getting better and better at automating things that humans do. Not just repetitive tasks like assembling parts in a factory, but complex tasks that have traditionally been the domain of humans. Pretty soon, these machine agents will take all the jobs. Humans need not apply.

Weve seen this movie play out beforeand after a gritty fight, we won. The advent of agriculture put hunters and gathers out of business. Then industrial farming put farmers out of business. But each time technology ate one type of jobs, new ones appeared to take their place. Human ingenuity did its thing, we adapted, and we survived to live (and work) another century.

But, say the naysayers, this time is different. Were not talking about dumb machines programmed to do very specific taskswere talking about AIs that learn and get better by watching us and parsing our data for patterns. Globally networked AIs that learn and cooperate with each other will be very powerful, according to author and futurist Yuval Harari. In order to replace most humans, he says, the AI wont have to do very spectacular things.

I do not buy into that version of the future, and here are some reasons why.

AI is smart, but it really isnt as smart as we think. Its true that AI is getting better at tackling complex problems, but its equally true that AI is still not very good at doing many of the things associated with human jobs.

Automation will take away the parts of our jobs we dont like and leave room for more meaningful work.AIs have gotten pretty good at a believable facsimile of humanity in tightly controlled situationslike scheduling meetings. But a general-purpose AI that truly understands you and can respond with creativity and empathy, like the android Ava from Ex Machina? Not so much. AI isnt very good at jobs that require creativity, empathy, critical thinking, leadership, artistic expression, and a whole host of other qualities we traditionally think of as human. Which is why, according to Michael Chui of the McKinsey Global Institute, entire jobs or industries wont often be automated away.

Rather, automation will release humans from the need to perform specific tasks. Those will mostly be non-creative and non-personal tasks that can be broken down into relatively predictable parts. These are chores you didnt want to do to begin with. A lot of people arent hired to schedule meetings, submit receipts for reimbursements, or book flights, anywayfor a lot of folks, theyre just a dreadful set of tasks that came along with your otherwise pretty exciting job.

As venture capitalist Marc Andreessen points out, theres a subtext to the-robots-are-taking-our-jobs argument that is rarely discussed: It presupposes that humans are not smart enough to think up new industries and jobs.

But when industrialization killed the agriculture jobs that employed almost three quarters of the population, people dreamed up new ways to keep fellow humans working. We crisscrossed the country with highways. We took to the skies in flying machines. We built computers. We birthed entire industries around entertainment, healthcare, and education.

I have more faith in humans, and I have yet to see any real evidence to support the pessimism. As Andreessen says, people 100 years ago would marvel at the jobs we do today. The optimist in me finds it difficult to imagine why it will be any different 100 years from now.

AI can seem dystopian because its easier to describe existing jobs disappearing than to imagine industries that never existed appearing, tweeted Box CEO Aaron Levie. Hes right. Theres just no compelling reason to bet against humans when the past 200 years of history shows that were pretty damn good at adapting to technological change.

Not only havent we reached our full potential, but AI can help us reach higher. The debate between artificial intelligence (machines replace us) vs intelligence augmentation (machines help us) has been raging for decades. One side wants to engineer humans out of the equation, while the other thinks the role of machines is to help people perform better.

AI will make us better at our jobs, and better at being human.But that debate misses the point. The two ideas arent mutually exclusive. Its true that AI can do certain things far better than humansIve staked my entrepreneurial future on that. But its also true that when AI starts doing those things, it will make us better at our jobs, and better at being human.

Take a job in sales, for example. Right now, a sales assistant likely spends a lot of time doing things that could be automated: prospecting for and qualifying leads, sending follow-up emails, updating Salesforce, building reports, etc. Once all thats taken over by intelligent machine agents, whats left for you as a salesperson? Its the emotional and creative stuff. Youll spend your day building relationships and serving your clients with creative solutions to their problems. By freeing you from the mundane tasks you used to have to do, often grudgingly, AI will let you focus on things that form the core of your job: the stuff that only you, a human, can do.

This is already happening. Lets stick with the sales example. My companys AI assistant, Amy, removes the tedious task of scheduling meetings from your plate. A sales-specific assistant like Tact automatically captures sales data, reducing administrative load, and then Troops.ai automates the process of organizing it in Salesforce. When it comes time to communicate with leads, Crystal builds personality profiles based on social-media use and suggests ways to personalize your messages. These AI assistants are helping salespeople today by augmenting their existing skills and allowing them to focus on the human side of the job.

One implication of all this is that for humans to succeed in the AI-powered future, we need to double down on our humanity. Technical skills will no doubt remain important in the future of work, but as AI allows us to automate repetitive tasks across many industries, these will in many cases take a back seat to soft skills. Communication, emotional intelligence, creativity, critical thinking, collaboration, and cognitive flexibility will become the most sought-after abilities. To prepare for that future, we need to emphasize developing higher-order thinking and emotional skills.

While our formal education system catches up to the shifting definition of human intelligence, here are three basic ideas for improving your prospects in the future of work.

I see a bright future for humans. In fact, I believe there will be plenty of challenging work for humans because of AI, not in spite of it. I build AI agents for a living, but when it comes to creativity and innovation, Ill continue to bet on humans. Well come through with new ideas, new industries, and new ways to keep ourselves busy and productive, this time buttressed by AI helpers. Our imagination will carry us forward. It always does.

Learn how to write for Quartz Ideas. We welcome your comments at ideas@qz.com.

See the original post:

Automation may take our jobsbut it'll restore our humanity - Quartz

Posted in Automation | Comments Off on Automation may take our jobsbut it’ll restore our humanity – Quartz