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Technologists have long predicted that someday machines will be able to do all necessary work without human assistance. As it stands today, there’s already a lot that can be automated. Self-driving cars, machines that read X-rays, and self-serve checkouts are powerful new forms of automation.

As automation technologies play an increasingly important role in everyday life, their potential impact on the workplace has become a major focus of research and public unease. A study claims the U.S. is projected to lose more than 1.5 million jobs to automation over the next decade. The number of robots in the workforce today has also multiplied threefold over the past 20 years. This raises the question: where’s the line when it comes to automation and human skills in the workplace?

Global chip sales kicked off 2021 on a positive note, President Biden passed a plan to boost chip production, and researchers reported new solutions to address the biggest computing problems today. Read on for the latest news and technology updates in the first quarter of 2021.

Entering 2020, organizations were addressing newfound security challenges associated with cloud technology and edge environments. But with the onset of the pandemic, few were prepared to face the unprecedented cyber threats that intensified their existing security challenges. According to one report, nearly 80 percent of senior IT and IT security leaders believe their organizations lack sufficient protection against cyberattacks in 2021. To build up a strong security armor, organizations need to take serious steps to risk management.

Cybersecurity has always been important, but in today’s environment, it’s mission-critical. Global cybercrime is expected to grow by 15 percent each year over the next five years— triple the figure for 2015. To put it into perspective, that’s more than 100 attacks every second of every day. If the semiconductor technologies we depend on become vulnerable to hacking, the consequences can range from diminished consumer trust to natural security breaches.

Even in an unpredictable labor market, engineers remain exceptionally high in demand across a myriad of industries. According to the U.S. Department of Labor data released in 2020, the total number of engineers will increase 4.8 percent from 2018 to 2028. Among them, several engineering roles stand out as the most in-demand gigs in 2021.

Let’s look at the top seven engineering jobs and in-demand technical skills in 2021 based on a compilation of recent analyses and trends:

When the world went into lockdown, it quickly became clear that no industry would be exempt from the impact of the pandemic— including the semiconductor industry. In 2021, chip manufacturers and suppliers face more challenges than ever before, juggling both ongoing and new problems that impact the supply chain network.

After all the unexpected twists and turns of last year, 2021 looks like the year to take stock and plan stronger, more resilient operations. The unexpected crises and new demand patterns of the past year have pushed players in the semiconductor and tech space to reimagine work processes and business models. With many of the effects of 2020’s challenges still present, it’s clear that the need for creative solutions and planning will be crucial for long-term success.

While 2020 wasn’t the year we expected, semiconductor companies and tech organizations worldwide have made strides in the past few months despite the fallout from COVID-19. Chip sales rebounded, a trade pact brought ASEAN countries together to help revitalize trade, and superconductors gained traction for practical usage. Before closing out the year, make sure to catch up on the latest chip news and technology updates in the final quarter of 2020!

If semiconductors are the backbone of modern technology, then semiconductor memories are the brain of the operations. In an era with a dramatic increase in the volume of digital information generated daily— from individual consumers to entire industries— the semiconductor memory market is more important than ever.

For years, semiconductor manufacturing in the U.S. remained stable. But now chip capacity growth in other regions has started to outperform American output. More semiconductors are now manufactured in Asia than anywhere else, and China is on track to become the largest semiconductor manufacturing location in the world.