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When artificial intelligence begins automating jobs once done by humans, women will have to worry more than men, according to a new study by McKinsey & Co.

The report, which was compiled by the consulting firm’s research arm, McKinsey Global Institute, analyzed US labor-market trends through 2030, and found that women are 1.5 times more likely to need to change jobs in the next seven years.

McKinsey attributed the figure to the high amount of women in industries with lower-wage jobs, which will be most affected by AI technology already present in models that are available for public use like ChatGPT, Google’s Bard AI and DALL-E, which generates images.

“Women are heavily represented in office support and customer service, which could shrink by about 3.7 million and 2.0 million jobs, respectively, by 2030,” the report states.

Blacks and Hispanics will also be adversely affected as these workers are “highly concentrated in some shrinking occupations within customer service, food services and production work.”

In all, at least 12 million workers in US could be displaced by technology and switching jobs come 2030, McKinsey said.

The analysis also showed that among low-wage industries, 1.1 million jobs could be entirely swiped from the workforce.

Workers across these in-jeopardy jobs are up to 14 times more likely to need to change occupations than their higher-paid counterparts employed in the transportation, construction and healthcare industries.

For employees want to find a new job with a better salary, “most will need additional skills to do so successfully,” the report noted.

However, not all white-collar positions will be unscathed by the incoming wave of AI in the workforce.

Lawyers are among the high-paid workers who will see “the biggest impact of generative AI” since models “can search through case law, … freeing lawyers to think through how to apply them in new legal arguments.”

AI-backed tools like the ones developed by Sam Altman’s artificial intelligence company OpenAI will also be able to use the tech to edit documents, the form noted, which is usually what lawyers “spend a great deal of time” doing.

Civil engineers’ jobs may also be on the chopping block, as generative AI will “accelerate the design process, taking all building codes into account for fewer errors and less rework.”

McKinsey notes that a streamlined process in planning, designing and executing infrastructure — tasks civil engineers are trained to do — “is vital at a time when the nation needs to deliver more affordable housing and major infrastructure projects.”

However, “physical work is not going away,” the report added, noting that better-paying jobs could grow immensely, by as much as 3.8 million jobs.

Overall, it “probably wont be that kind of catastrophic thing,” McKinsey Global Institute partner Michael Chui told Bloomberg of the impending wave of AI-powered automation in the workforce.

But, it’s still “going to change almost every job,” he added.

If handled correctly, McKinsey said that the US workforce could see a significant increase in productivity and property.

The study reports that in the best-case scenario, productivity could increase from 1%, where it is now, to up to 4%.

It also attributed the shift to net-zero emissions to a decline in the workforce, as it’s already begun shifting employment away from oil, gas and automotive manufacturing.

Some 3.5 million positions could be wiped out by the transition to greener emissions by 2030.

Those jobs will be replaced by positions in green industries, which will see “a modest gain in employment” to the tune of 700,000 additional jobs, according to the report.

“We also see increased demand for healthcare workers as the population ages, plus gains in transportation services due to e-commerce,” McKinsey said.

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Sports

Ohio St. dominates Michigan to snap losing streak

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Ohio St. dominates Michigan to snap losing streak

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Julian Sayin threw three touchdown passes, including a 35-yarder to Jeremiah Smith on a fourth down in the second quarter, and No. 1 Ohio State beat No. 15 Michigan 27-9 in a dominant performance on Saturday.

The defending national champion Buckeyes (12-0, 9-0 Big Ten, No. 1 CFP) likely earned a first-round bye in the College Football Playoff. They can keep their top seed with a win against No. 2 Indiana (12-0, 9-0, No. 2 CFP) in the conference championship game Saturday night in Indianapolis.

Ryan Day should sleep well, a year after losing The Game when his team was favored by about three touchdowns. The upset extended his losing streak in the series to four games and sparked speculation he might also lose his job.

The Wolverines (9-3, 7-2) started strong with two field goals and an interception on the first three possessions of the game, but couldn’t generate pressure when Ohio State wanted to pass.

After throwing an interception on his second snap, redshirt freshman Sayin took advantage of the time and space he had to throw.

Sayin was 6 of 6 for 68 yards with two touchdowns on third and fourth down in the first half, including a 4-yard throw to Brandon Inniss with 16 seconds left that made it 17-9 at the break. He finished 19 of 26 for 233 yards and threw for at least three touchdowns for the sixth time this season.

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Sources: Sumrall the favorite to land Florida job

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Sources: Sumrall the favorite to land Florida job

Tulane coach Jon Sumrall has emerged as the clear favorite to be the next head coach of the Florida Gators, sources told ESPN’s Pete Thamel.

Florida turned its attention away from Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin earlier this week after getting the sense through irregular communication that he is interested in other options, likely a move to LSU or remaining with the Rebels, sources told ESPN on Friday.

Sumrall is expected to make a decision on his future by Sunday morning as he considers staying at Tulane or a move to Gainesville. He also received significant interest from Auburn, but the Tigers have since shifted their focus to other candidates, another indicator that Florida looms as the clear leader for Sumrall’s services, sources said.

Sumrall, a former SEC player at Kentucky, where he later served as an assistant coach and co-defensive coordinator, is 18-7 in two seasons at Tulane. He also won back-to-back Sun Belt titles as head coach at Troy in 2022 and 2023.

Sumrall, 43, garnered outside interest after his first season with Tulane, earning a contract extension after just one season at the helm.

Tulane (9-2) hosts Charlotte on Saturday night in its regular-season finale. The Green Wave can clinch a spot in the American Conference championship game against North Texas with a win over the 49ers.

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World

Hong Kong mourns those lost to fire as investigators search for remains

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Hong Kong mourns those lost to fire as investigators search for remains

Grief was not lonely today in Hong Kong. Three days after the worst fire in the history of modern Hong Kong, it feels as though it has barely sunk in.

The weekend at least lent them time to pay tribute, and gave them some space to reflect.

People came in droves to lay flowers, so many a queuing system was needed.

People queue with flowers near the site to mourn the victims of the deadly fire. Pic: AP
Image:
People queue with flowers near the site to mourn the victims of the deadly fire. Pic: AP

Official books of condolences were also set up in multiple parts of the city.

It was the first day large teams of investigators were able to enter the site. Dozens of them in hazmat suits were bused in, their work the grimmest of tasks.

Every so often you could see a flashlight peep through the window of an upper blackened window, a reminder that the fire services are still undertaking dangerous work.

But the reach of the authorities is ramping up here.

Firefighters walk through the burned buildings after the deadly fire. Pic: AP
Image:
Firefighters walk through the burned buildings after the deadly fire. Pic: AP

Yesterday a grass roots aid distribution centre was the vibrant heart of the response.

They received notice at 4am that they needed to pack up and move on. By 10.30am, the mountains of donations were gone, residents watched on, bewildered.

The task apparently will be handed over to professional NGOs.

“I think the government’s biggest concern is due to some past incidents,” one organiser tells us. “They may liken this to previous events. The essence looks similar.”

Pic: AP
Image:
Pic: AP

She’s careful with her words, but she’s clearly hinting at major pro-democracy protests that were crushed by authorities in 2019.

Any sort of mass gathering is now seen as a risk, the system is still very nervous.

And they might well be because people here are angry.

What, they ask, did the government know? What did it choose to ignore?

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How Hong Kong’s government failed to act on fire fears

Indeed, Sky News has learnt that residents raised their fears over fire safety connected to extensive renovations on Wang Fuk Court as early as September 2024.

They flagged the suspected flammability of green nets being used to cover the building.

An email response from the Labour Department was sent a few months later to Jason Poon, a civil engineer-turned-activist, who was working with residents. It insists that “the mesh’s flame retardant properties meet safety standards”.

But many clearly didn’t believe it. Posts spanning many months on a residents’ Facebook group continued to voice their fears.

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Hong Kong fire survivors supported by community

When a much smaller fire broke out in the city last month, one resident posted: “All the materials outside are flammable, I feel really worried.”

“I feel that same way” another replied. “The government has no sense of concern.”

For Poon, who dedicates much of his time to fighting lax safety standards in Hong Kong’s construction industry, the whole experience has been devastating.

“They knew all the maintenance was using corner-cutting materials, but they didn’t do anything,” he says.

“This is a man-made disaster.”

We put these allegations to Hong Kong’s Labour Department but they have not yet responded to our request for comment.

Grief may still be the prominent force here, but anger is not that far behind.

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