Intelligent challenge the artificial manufacturing industry faces a new round of shuffle

Shin

[If artificial intelligence, robotics and digital manufacturing are abreast, the competitive landscape of manufacturing may face a new round of shuffling]

The scene in modern times, starring Zablinzon, the American comedian, is that in the 20 's, the United States was in a recession, unemployment was high, and repeated heavy work pressure made workers a screw in the production of large machines. The worker Charlie worked around the clock in a machine-rumbling factory, and in his line of work, he was simply repeating the same moves every moment to earn a meager income.

Now, at the International Industrial Technology Fair, "First financial daily" reporter saw is another scene: in a household battery production assembly line, a number of vigorous small robots in a methodical cooperation. In the assembly part of the finished product, there are about 20 centimeters between the two cooperative robots, one of them will just produce the batteries in an orderly arrangement, and the group of 4 batteries to pass to the partners around. After the small partner received, quickly 4 battery pack and arranged neatly, passed to the partner for packaging. When the robot encounters positive and negative battery dislocation, it will reset to identify and adjust the order of items, and then to the small partners. Smart robots have replaced Charlie's position years ago, and intelligent devices have doubled Charlie's meager income for years.

Intelligent replacement of artificial?

"You can see the transformation of artificial intelligence technology into manufacturing. "Fanuc's regional manager, Blaine Owell, who was standing in front of a small robot to pick a key model, said to the first financial daily reporter," Such small robots are not expensive, and cost and ease of control are easily accepted by the public. " For example, for small or family-style enterprises, artificial intelligence can reduce human costs and increase capacity. He believes that machine substitution is the main keynote of manufacturing. The new wave of machine replacement will not be a substitute for simple labour, but a possible alternative to complex labour, including not only the substitution of physical labour, but also the substitution of mental work.

Michael Mornas of the National Institute of Standards and Technology said at the show last weekend that most of the advanced manufacturing technologies have been around for some time, but the new digital and intelligent technologies will allow manufacturers to create opportunities to scale up and produce products they have never thought of before.

MIT economist Eric Brinjolsson and Andrew Macafi also said in their book, "Running with the robot": "The recent technology has a profound economic impact on the speed and scope of substitution of human skills." "In their view, the emergence of low-cost automation technology indicates that the scale of change is comparable to that of the last century's agricultural technological revolution, which has led to a 40% per cent rise in agricultural employment in the United States to the total labour force, which has fallen to 2% today."

In fact, the number of information-processing jobs in the middle class has been declining in the United States, after entering the new century, as intelligent technology replaces Labor. 2000-2010 years, 11 million secretarial positions were replaced by Internet services, while telephone operators decreased by 64%, travel agents decreased by 46% and accounting was reduced by 26% in the same period. The US is not a case in which 2/3 of the 76 million middle-class jobs in Europe have fallen prey to technology.

"The machine will continue to consolidate its position in manufacturing," Kelly in the Wired magazine. Once the robots replace the workers in the assembly line, they will replace the workers in the warehouse. For example, the robot can lift 150 pounds of items all day, find boxes to classify, organize and load the goods into the truck. Fruit and vegetable harvesting will continue to be robotic. Pharmacies will also be distributing medicines by individual robots, while pharmacists need to focus on patient counseling. ”

Clearly, if artificial intelligence, robotics and digital manufacturing are abreast, the competitive landscape of manufacturing could face a new round of shuffling. Because artificial intelligence technology goes into the manufacturing sector, helping people with product module design and testing will make mass customization and production in manufacturing possible; robotics will reduce labor costs, increase capacity and manipulate manufacturing in manufacturing, and digital technology will launch a manufacturing effort to produce new products, And the use of modern science and technology for further simulation and debugging. The revolution in manufacturing began when the three were all in a suit.

What is the manual?

Once the manufacturing industry adopts artificial intelligence technology and large area mechanization, where will those workers go?

MIT economist David Otter that no matter how artificial intelligence, robotics and digital innovation, in the face of flexible work, robots can never do with the same basic thinking and human cognition and judgment. At the same time, although the intelligence of the manufacturing industry has a certain impact, especially in those manual labor and the cognitive aspects of simple matters, artificial intelligence has made some achievements, but overall, some of the manual operation can not be replaced temporarily. People can understand a manufacturing process through a computer program, and the machine can't.

"Some items can never be replaced by intelligent machines, which will be manufactured manually and made by hand." For example, Ferrari, Porsche, Gucci bag and some high-quality jewelry crafts, need people to create with sensibility, and the machine will never have this ability. Will Moller, professor of industrial technology and management at the Illinois Polytechnic University, said Willmaurer.

Now, from the family side of the small sweeping robot, IPhone6 to a large intelligent monitoring system, to a number of large factories and equipment workshops, from printing, welding, assembly, handling and other jobs, people seem to have seen the charm of artificial intelligence: it allows people to liberate their hands, so that smart devices to take care of more. But the most critical question is how can people develop and use intelligent products in the context of constantly updating technology and information? Will tomorrow's AI pose a threat to humans?