Industry 4.0: What Does Automation Mean For American Jobs?
Industry 4.0: What does automation mean for American jobs?
Introduction
When we think of robots we cast our minds into the realms of science-fiction and think of characters like C3P0 from Star Wars and the replicants from Blade-Runner. These examples are obviously fictional, but there are real robots that inhabit our world. Our robotics are not yet as advanced as C3P0, but they are still very impressive and are becoming increasingly capable of replacing human labour. These robots have been built to perform a wide range of tasks from the menial, such as cooking and cleaning, to more complicated jobs like surgery and bomb disposal. Robotics are also being used in factories due to their ability to produce high-quality products at blistering …show more content…
These modern day luddites argue that incorporating robotics into business will replace the people who already work there, leaving them without employment and unable to compete in the job market. Their concern is not unfounded. Major companies have been known to lay-off large portions of their labour force in favour of automated machines. For instance, the sportswear company Nike sacked 106,000 of its factory workers in favour of machines. Similarly, Chinese company, Shenzhen Evenwin Precision Technology, replaced 90% of its 1,800 factory workers with robots in 2013 . This trend shows no signs of stopping. In 2013, Oxford University published a paper which claims that advances in technology will put 47% of American jobs at risk of being automated by 2020. Specifically, labour jobs in production, white collar office workers and logistics occupations are the most susceptible to automation.
Conclusion
It is clear from the evidence that industrial automation will have a negative effect of the American job market. These benefits of adopting robotics into the workplace, such as the increase of productivity, profits, quality and safety, are just too great for business owners to ignore, which leaves workers at a disadvantage. Unfortunately, the encroachment of machines into the workspace shows no signs of slowing down with around half of American jobs expected to be done by machines by
Introduction
When we think of robots we cast our minds into the realms of science-fiction and think of characters like C3P0 from Star Wars and the replicants from Blade-Runner. These examples are obviously fictional, but there are real robots that inhabit our world. Our robotics are not yet as advanced as C3P0, but they are still very impressive and are becoming increasingly capable of replacing human labour. These robots have been built to perform a wide range of tasks from the menial, such as cooking and cleaning, to more complicated jobs like surgery and bomb disposal. Robotics are also being used in factories due to their ability to produce high-quality products at blistering …show more content…
These modern day luddites argue that incorporating robotics into business will replace the people who already work there, leaving them without employment and unable to compete in the job market. Their concern is not unfounded. Major companies have been known to lay-off large portions of their labour force in favour of automated machines. For instance, the sportswear company Nike sacked 106,000 of its factory workers in favour of machines. Similarly, Chinese company, Shenzhen Evenwin Precision Technology, replaced 90% of its 1,800 factory workers with robots in 2013 . This trend shows no signs of stopping. In 2013, Oxford University published a paper which claims that advances in technology will put 47% of American jobs at risk of being automated by 2020. Specifically, labour jobs in production, white collar office workers and logistics occupations are the most susceptible to automation.
Conclusion
It is clear from the evidence that industrial automation will have a negative effect of the American job market. These benefits of adopting robotics into the workplace, such as the increase of productivity, profits, quality and safety, are just too great for business owners to ignore, which leaves workers at a disadvantage. Unfortunately, the encroachment of machines into the workspace shows no signs of slowing down with around half of American jobs expected to be done by machines by