The automatic control of machinery, or automation, isn’t as new most people think. In fact, in the 18th-century inventors were devising ways to automate the processes in flour mills and control the mechanisms in windmills. Today, automation is seen on a much grander scale, and some see its proliferation as a threat to traditional jobs. While it does account for job losses, the rise of the robots in manufacturing and industrial applications has other interesting implications for businesses, workers, and consumers.
Workforce Automation and Job Losses
A recent survey by Pew Research Center found that two-thirds of Americans expect automation to take over much of the work done by humans within the next half century. Interestingly, 80% of those surveyed believe that their current jobs will be safe. While there is a lack of concern among some workers, the fact is that jobs are disappearing due to automation around the world. One place that this is most evident is in China, which is a manufacturing hub for the electronics industry. In one factory alone, the workforce was cut from 110,000 to 50,000 due to the introduction of robots. According to a recent report from the Oxford Martin School, 57 percent of jobs globally are susceptible to automation yet this proliferation will vary by country and region.
Potential Advantages of Workforce Automation
Talk of automation is often met with Orwellian predictions of doom and gloom. This isn’t necessarily the case. The cost savings that are generated from automated can be, to an extent, passed on to consumers in the form of cheaper and more efficient products and services. While Americans have long lamented the export of manufacturing jobs overseas, workforce automation could actually bring some of these jobs back home. Lower production costs make it possible again to build items domestically and open up markets to smaller manufacturers. One example is Under Armor, who’s Project Glory plan seeks to have U.S. goods produced in the U.S.
The Limitations of Automation
While jobs moving to automation is expected to grow in coming years, there are limitations. When automation picked up speed in the early 20th century, the appeal was the ability to mass produce such things as automobiles. Now, product life cycles are much shorter, companies promise customization, and automation doesn’t necessarily fit with this model. For example, investing in 100,000 robots to build a smartphone that will be obsolete in eight months wouldn’t be a smart business decision. Flexibility and customization is a must, and we may not be quite there with mass automation systems yet.
The Dawn of a Second Machine Age
Robots and automated machines are increasingly becoming an integral part of the workforce. Some argue that job losses are simply shifts to something different. These automated positions performed by humans are disappearing, yet an entirely new segment of jobs is being created in the process.
Airbus has recently announced a program to develop humanoid robotic technology for its factories. However, instead of replacing existing workers, the company claims that the new program will simply increase production levels and reassign workers to other positions. Workers will be needed to build robots, calibrate, monitor, and maintain automation machines, and analyze data.
The rise of the robots is a reality, but it isn’t the end of the world. Just as the Industrial Revolution changed the face of our workforce over a century ago, today’s advances in technology are paving the way for the workforce of tomorrow.
