Technology Will Redefine Not Reduce Manufacturing Jobs | Material Handling and Logistics (MHL News)
Things aren’t as dire as they appear. Human beings will still find employment even as automation-enabling technologies – e.g., robotics, machine learning, and artificial Intelligence (AI) make inroads in the manufacturing sector.
“Most products are still assembled by human hands, monitored by localized systems, and inspected manually,” said Ryan Martin, principal analyst at ABI Research, discussing his company’s study, “Smart Workforces: Transformative Technologies for New Employment Paradigms.”
“Digitizing these processes amplifies the value—and payback profile—of balancing IT and OT asset availability with existing operational improvement projects,” Martin added.
What will change is the nature and scope of the jobs. “Transformative technologies like robotics, ML, and AI may substitute specific tasks previously carried out by humans, but they will also allow those professionals to focus on new tasks – and these new tasks will, by nature, redefine the core skills associated with the occupation at hand.”