Editor's note

As more industries use robots, the fear of higher unemployment is growing. The impact that new technology will have is undeniable but, Calestous Juma writes, to truly understand its effect on job creation, or loss, we must look at the overall business context as well as how social systems and technologies shape each other.

The image of the Quranic student in Africa as a victim of sinister clerics and poor, ignorant or negligent parents is pervasive. But this is far from the truth, argues Anneke Newman, who shows that many children opt to take this route for sound reasons.

Moina Spooner

Commissioning Editor: East Africa

Top story

Robots are advancing exponentially while human learning occurs at a much slower pace. Shutterstock

Jobs and robots: bracing for technological disruptions to come

Calestous Juma, Harvard University

Jobs are not created or lost because of a single technology, but because of the business models designed to leverage the power of it.

Education

Health + Medicine

  • Malaria testing and treatment increases worker wellness -- as well as effort

    Andrew Dillon, Michigan State University; Pieter Serneels, University of East Anglia; Sarah A. Kopper, Michigan State University

    Health investments raise worker productivity, but firms may not observe changes in worker effort. Technology that measures physical activity demonstrates these potential gains.

Environment + Energy

  • How barcoding is helping South Africa track its precious pollinators

    Dirk Swanevelder, The Agricultural Research Council; Annemarie Gous, The Agricultural Research Council; Connal D. Eardley,, The Agricultural Research Council; Sandi Willows-Munro, University of KwaZulu-Natal

    Pollination in South Africa's ecosystems is extremely complex. However new advances such as pollen metabarcoding help us understand interactions between pollinators and pollen.

Business + Economy