In this week’s blog, I will look at the future of automation in manufacturing. In previous blogs, I wrote about the positive and negative aspects of automation in manufacturing, and I explored the history of automation as well. Given that these cover nearly all bases of the issue, it is now time to look into where manufacturing is headed in the future.

Automation, for better or for worse, has been something companies have embraced for as long as there have been companies in business. Firms are always looking to stay on the cutting edge of technology, allowing them to stay a step ahead of their competition. Things like the assembly line were introduced and widely copied, and robots have become increasingly common in factories across the world. Keeping with this trend, companies embrace the latest technological advancements if they help their bottom line.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE:

Artificial intelligence, or A.I., is the latest technological advancement to be utilized by large corporations. A.I. was first conceptualized in the 1950s by British mathematician Alan Turing who reasoned that machines could “think” in the same way humans do, utilizing both available information as well as reason. Unfortunately, Turing was unable to prove his hypothesis, as computers of his time were extremely large, slow, expensive, and incapable of performing the complex calculations performed by today’s artificial intelligence. Later on, however, A.I. technology began to flourish. As computers improved, A.I. improved with them. A.I. technology still faced setbacks until the 1990s, when A.I. had significantly improved, to the point where an IBM computer defeated a reigning world chess champion and grandmaster. Today, A.I. is seen nearly everywhere- in phones, computers, robots, watches, and even cars. Many companies are now testing driverless cars that rely solely on artificial intelligence to navigate busy city streets.

This is all well and good, but what does this increase in artificial intelligence capabilities mean for companies? In short, it means that companies are now utilizing technology in unprecedented ways. Whereas before most technological advances were advances in the machines that human workers used to complete tasks, companies are now bypassing the human element and utilizing only machines. Not only is this occurring in the United States, but it is happening in places that one would not expect A.I. to take hold. In countries like India and China (countries traditionally associated with low wages and poor working/living conditions), companies have begun to invest in artificial intelligence as living standards age wages have begun to increase. This technology is still fairly new, but its rapid growth means that it will soon be the norm, rather than the exception, on factory floors.

What kinds of results will companies see if they embrace artificial intelligence? For starters, they will have to pay large sums of money to purchase the equipment. They will phase out some of their employees, however, saving them money in the long run. For workers whose jobs are not lost, the workplace will become much safer. The use of artificial intelligence eliminates the possibility of human error, as machines can be programmed to perform specific task. New artificial intelligence can also be programmed to sense danger and the “think” on its feet, which had been previously unimaginable. For example, many roles traditionally filled by human workers, such as forklift drivers, can now be filled with smart, self-driving forklifts that make moving goods around much more efficient and therefore much cheaper. Much of this is still speculative, however, as many present-day robots are apt to crash into things, fall over, or wander off due to technological or mechanical failure.

While robots and A.I. have great use on factory floors, they also have shown enormous potential in the transportation industry. Many traditional means of transporting freight (truck, train, plane, and ship) already utilize some artificial intelligence. Modern planes use the technology in their cockpits and have for years, and some docks use artificial intelligence to help load, unload, and sort the vast quantity of cargo that comes off of the average commercial ship. Many companies are also experimenting with self-driving trucks. While the technology is still in its infancy, the idea of self-driving trucks is truly revolutionary; no longer will trucks be limited by the number of miles or hours a human driver can drive in a day. Freight will be able to get to its destination much quicker and cheaper than before.

In conclusion, new technologies like artificial intelligence are quickly grasping hold of the manufacturing industry. These technologies have numerous benefits for companies that adopt them- most importantly, they save the company money and increase production capabilities. While the technology still has a long way to progress before it is seen in every factory, it is undoubtedly the way of the future, and corporations will likely have to adapt artificial intelligence or risk being left behind.

This week, we will examine the cons of increased levels of automation in manufacturing. While the benefits of increasing automation may be fairly evident, the costs of increasing manufacturing are much less evident and more nuanced. While the benefits are largely economic, the costs are primarily social in nature. Many people do not consider them when thinking of the effects of increased manufacturing and improved technology, but I will attempt to explore them in more detail here.

The first (and perhaps the most obvious) cost of automation is the loss of jobs that stems from the usage of more robots. As companies begin to utilize technology that eliminates the need for large quantities of workers, those workers are often let go. Because many factories are located in small towns in the middle of “flyover country”, there are often little opportunities outside of jobs in the manufacturing industry. This means that those who are laid off are largely unable to find work once their jobs are terminated. As a result, many of these workers are unable to provide for their families. They then become reliant on the social safety net, which becomes a large drain on the system as more and more unemployed workers rely on it. With many of the programs already under tremendous financial strain and their sustainability in question, more people utilizing them increases this strain exponentially. This also means that the nuclear family is placed under tremendous stress. In the traditional family, one or both parents worked to provide the family with the things they need. This dynamic helped ensure that parents avoided having children out of wedlock (it was impractical to expect both parents to provide for a child without the bond of marriage), waited to have children until they were in a position to financially support them, and that fathers remained in the picture. By having the state take over the traditional role of the father, it is no longer “necessary” for fathers to remain in the picture- the state will provide what they will not. By removing the father, children lose someone who traditionally helped guide and teach them, and mothers are then force to bear the full cost of parenthood by themselves. The greatest effect of this is on young boys, who lose a father figure and thus become more susceptible to lives of drugs, crime, and violence. This effect is in full display in small towns, where the lack of opportunity talked about earlier help many young men spiral further and further down the wrong path.

A second effect of this loss of jobs is that when people are out of work things like crime and drug use increase. The closing of factories in small towns could be one of the primary reasons the opioid epidemic has become such a massive problem in rural America (excluding, of course, the widespread availability of these drugs). The increase in opioid usage (and subsequent drug-related deaths) has coincided with the closing of many factories. Additionally, when large groups of young men who previously worked in factories find themselves out of work, many turn to lives of crime, similar to those who grow up without fathers. This has a detrimental effect on small towns, who now find themselves racked with levels of crime they had previously thought unheard of. Also, for the younger generations, there is an obvious lack of opportunity in their hometowns, which prompts many of the best and brightest young students to move away in search of opportunities, resulting what has been dubbed a “brain drain”. With the most promising young people leaving rural areas, they are doomed to be left in the dust as the rest of the country develops and advances.

As you can see, the majority of negatives of increased automation are social ones. There are a few economic costs, however. While automation can lead to an increase in corporate profits, there has been no coinciding increase in median wage, meaning that the average worker (whose job is not lost to a machine) has not seen any noticeable wage growth, despite his employer’s increasing profits. Although briefly alluded to earlier, automation can also increase economic inequality as workers get laid off. Those who are no longer capable of making the purchases they could when they were employed are no longer consumers, which hurts business on a macro level. Even though firms are producing more goods by utilizing machinery, they are losing some customers by phasing out their employees through the use of those very machines.

In conclusion, there are a number of costs associated with an increase in automation. While the majority are social costs, some are economic. Given the current Administration’s economic policies, it will be interesting to see what equilibrium can be found for automation and what the future holds for American manufacturing.

In this week’s blog, I will examine the advantages of increasing automation in manufacturing. I will look at the many positive aspects of technological advancement, and analyze them and what they mean for American society and culture.

Perhaps the most important advantage of increasing automation is that it allows American companies to remain competitive in a global marketplace. In an economy where it is often much cheaper to produce goods overseas, where labor laws are more relaxed and the wages much lower, machines can offer American corporations the opportunity to keep production in the United States and still remain competitive. This also means that smaller American companies can also compete with larger ones, as they are able to lower production costs through efficient use of machines and the hiring of fewer workers. The increased productivity that comes with the use of robots and other machines further helps smaller (and American) companies compete and thrive. By maintaining a strong American economic presence, the United States and ensure that it remains a global power and can leverage that economic force should the need arise.

A second advantage of increasing automation is workplace safety. By letting machines and robots do dangerous jobs instead of having human workers do them, we can decrease workplace fatalities. This can not only save lives, it can save the company money. According to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration, American businesses spend approximately $170 billion per year on workplace injuries and illnesses. They also estimate that by improving safety procedures, through means such as automation, they can reduce these costs by 20-40%. This money could be spent on increased worker benefits or, more likely, on improvements within the company that would further their production capabilities and help increase efficiency. As companies grow in scope and capability, they produce and sell more goods, which helps the economy grow and helps the United States maintain power on a global scale.

In an aspect that is often not considered, robots and machines can help to save factory floor space. While this may seem trivial, the effects of it can be profound. As property values increase, it becomes more and more expensive to physically enlarge production capabilities in areas with high property costs. This can result in companies deciding not to grow or move overseas to achieve their goals, both of which hurt the United States economy. When companies are able to conserve floor space through use of robots and machines, they can reduce the need to buy more land or head overseas. The better utilization of floor space also can improve production times, as it increases efficiency and safety.

We now understand how automation in manufacturing can help the United States, but what is the impact of these advancements? What do they mean for the average person, who does not work a factory? The answer is that increasing manufacturing has numerous benefits for the average citizen, even if they may not be apparent at first glance.

Perhaps the most important impact, while previously mentioned, is that increasing automation can help to stabilize American companies that are in danger of failing. This has a number of positive effects: it allows American-owned businesses to stay in business, it allows these same companies to stay domestic (which means those jobs stay domestic as well), and (most evidently for the average consumer) lower prices for goods. By allowing American-owned businesses to stay open, the average consumer has the opportunity to buy goods from a company that they know supports American industry. This gives the American-owned businesses an edge their competitors do not have. Domestic manufacturing is important because it gives the United States autonomy, which means that the US is not dependent on any country for their manufacturing needs in a given industry. The most extreme example of this would be in the event of a war with a nation like China (who the United States relies on for much of her manufacturing). If the US is using weapons and technology that are produced in China, not only do they have the secrets of the technologies, they are also able to cease trade and strangle us economically. The most important aspect of increased manufacturing, however, is the lower prices consumer will see. When prices are low, consumers buy more goods. When they purchase more, businesses sell more and in turn are able to grow. As the businesses grow, they build more factories, which bring with them more jobs.

This all can help the American culture by contributing to the prosperity that all Americans try to achieve. By creating an economy with more domestic factories, we can create more jobs to help Americans achieve the American dream. This will result in a better, safer society, where many Americans are given the chance to succeed.