The only thing hindering AI from taking 99% of the jobs is that robotic engineers still can’t create a robot with the same level of dexterity as human hands.
Humans are way cheaper to recruit, maintain, and produce. Robots only compete on their potential for sociopathicly blind loyalty.
Computers are deeply fucking stupid in ways that most normal humans cannot even understand, until something tragic happens directly to them, as a reuslt. (And no, AI hasn’t fixed this. It put a really cool looking coat of razor thin paint over it.)
I work in automotive manufacturing. it’s a huge world. there are tons of people involved in designing, building, and running these cells.
also, the human part is pretty much always the most basic shit - loading and unloading feeders, moving material around with a forklift, loading parts by hand into the machine from material bins because it’s cheaper to hire someone to do that complex task (that is not sarcastic, picking something up from a loose bin and placing it in a known orientation is a difficult task to automate) than to teach and operate a robot for that
I don’t know how line operators stay sane. I’ve designed cells where it’s somebody’s job to do the same dozen motions every minute for an entire shift. many cells like that.
I’ll have to look into those and see what level of autonomy is happening, thanks for the info. a quick search says they do some welding as well. usually the fully automated stuff is just final assembly stuff and paint, which is simpler to automate because everything is in known locations.
that’s also kind of why I always find it funny when people brag about where the final assembly of a vehicle happens - okay but like where did all the parts come from? there’s four $5 million cells in Mexico, designed and built by Canadians, making the rear subframe and employing hundreds of people; why is a car “American” because you put the last pieces together in the US?
FANUC was the dark factory manufacturer I was thinking of when i originally responded, but that was many years ago. No doubt more of the supply chain has been integrated into the automated process and many companies are providing services.
The only thing hindering AI from taking 99% of the jobs is that robotic engineers still can’t create a robot with the same level of dexterity as human hands.
well, that and the fact that it can’t actually do something to the same level of quality.
but that’s not going to stop it from taking the jobs. only from actually completing them successfully after it does so.
I mean, I would add to this list:
Counterpoint. Robots build cars almost entirely on their own.
eh, sort of.
I work in automotive manufacturing. it’s a huge world. there are tons of people involved in designing, building, and running these cells.
also, the human part is pretty much always the most basic shit - loading and unloading feeders, moving material around with a forklift, loading parts by hand into the machine from material bins because it’s cheaper to hire someone to do that complex task (that is not sarcastic, picking something up from a loose bin and placing it in a known orientation is a difficult task to automate) than to teach and operate a robot for that
I don’t know how line operators stay sane. I’ve designed cells where it’s somebody’s job to do the same dozen motions every minute for an entire shift. many cells like that.
When I wrote that I was thinking in particular about the automated car factories in Japan that run without lights to save electricity.
But I take your point, there are still humans involved in the process.
I’ll have to look into those and see what level of autonomy is happening, thanks for the info. a quick search says they do some welding as well. usually the fully automated stuff is just final assembly stuff and paint, which is simpler to automate because everything is in known locations.
that’s also kind of why I always find it funny when people brag about where the final assembly of a vehicle happens - okay but like where did all the parts come from? there’s four $5 million cells in Mexico, designed and built by Canadians, making the rear subframe and employing hundreds of people; why is a car “American” because you put the last pieces together in the US?
FANUC was the dark factory manufacturer I was thinking of when i originally responded, but that was many years ago. No doubt more of the supply chain has been integrated into the automated process and many companies are providing services.
Note that at the high end the automation is reversed. Tour the Factory Where Bentley Handcrafts Its Luxury Rides. Similarly with expensive sports cars.
Made in X is mostly just for marketing now.
Realistically, most jobs don’t NEED hands. Most physical jobs can be done better with customized manipulators for the type of work being done.
We’d only need hands if we wanted a single robot model that could do multiple types of jobs, instead of a specific robot for each job.
You ever worked in the trades? You need hands.