WCA November 2019

From the Americas

will remain vital, with robots assisting in strenuous work such as getting patients in and out of bed.” And even Elon Musk, well known for his enthusiasm for the automated workplace, announced in 2018: “Excessive automation at Tesla was a mistake. To be precise, my mistake. Humans are underrated.” Mr Musk’s admission, however, should be viewed in the context of a recent patent application by Tesla, describing a new design of shorter, more rigid wiring harness that is more easily manipulated by robots. The MIT report coins the phrase “so-so technology”, describing those technologies that replace a human worker without providing any benefit. It examples two commonplace technologies: “…computerised telephone agents deployed by airlines and hotels, and self-checkout kiosks. Both technologies perform tasks previously done by workers. Yet neither improves the quality of the product or service: computerised telephone agents stumble over all but the most rudimentary queries; self-service kiosks merely shift checkout tasks from practiced cashiers to amateur customers.” More valuable are those technologies that enhance workers’ skills and talents, such as computer aided design (CAD) software that allows architects to work faster, or design more complex developments, or “medical imaging tools that boost the speed and accuracy” of a patient’s diagnosis. Despite the report’s warning that the US has done less than many other countries to invest in worker skills, or to strengthen “social safety nets where needed, and [incentivise] private sector firms to augment labour rather than to simply displace it,” there is a hint of optimism in its conclusion. The MIT team emphasises that the future will not be one of job shortages, with low birth rates and restrictions on immigration in the US likely to result in labour shortages. Instead, the future challenge will be “the quality and accessibility of the jobs that will exist and the career trajectories they will offer to workers, particularly to those with less education.” The rallying call to government? “The United States must strengthen and build institutions, launch new investments, and forge policies that ensure that work remains a central, rewarded, esteemed, and economically viable avenue for most adults to prosper.” In short, invest in job quality, not job quantity. And not just the United States; the MIT team’s findings can surely be extrapolated across the industrialised nations.

Automation The Work of the Future: automating optimism? An MIT task force anticipates “that in the next two decades industrialised countries will have more job openings than workers to fill them, and that robotics and automation will play an increasingly crucial role in closing these gaps.” In spring 2018, L Rafael Reif, president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), convened a task force to examine the work of the future. Its goal is described: “To understand the relationships between emerging technologies and work, and to explore strategies to enable a future of shared prosperity.” Conclusions from the team’s Autumn 2019 report, “The Work of the Future: Shaping Technology and Institutions,” include: “…new and emerging technologies will have a profound effect on the work of the future and will create new opportunities for economic growth. Whether that growth translates to higher living standards, better working conditions, greater economic security, and improved health and longevity in the United States and elsewhere depends on institutions of governance, public investments, education, law, and public and private leadership.” In essence, we want automation that improves living and working conditions, not simply to make human workers redundant. However, the task force sees business attitudes and scientific priorities leaning towards replacing workers, rather than upgrading skills and improving the worker experience. David Autor, an MIT economist and co-chair of the task force, said in an interview: “It’s super easy to make a business case for reducing head count.” Mr Autor went on to explain that a promise of replacing workers with robots will “light up a boardroom,” but that getting the board on-side for investments in automation that merely complement human work, even if “improving quality, consistency, and scalability” is far more difficult. Even central government appears to be biased towards robots and away from human, albeit tax-paying, workers. The report highlights that, by favouring capital investment, US administration effectively subsidises investment in robots, software and automation, yet it lacks similar subsidies for investments in worker training and skills. Mr Autor suspects that the “ultimate aim” of the artificial intelligence community is to develop a robot that can behave much like a human being: “The problems that people choose to work on are very much involved in their pre-suppositions about what is important,” he said, adding that the funding priorities of the National Science Foundation and Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency are adding to the problem. Hal Varian, Google’s chief economist, is quoted: “Most jobs are more complex than [most people] realise.” Of course there are areas where the human touch will always be needed: areas such as care for the elderly where, as Elisabeth Reynolds, an MIT principal research scientist and the task force’s executive director, said: “Human beings

BigStockPhoto.com Photographer: Aispl

Automotive

Taking EVs into Europe In pursuit of its target to achieve the majority of vehicle sales from electric models by the end of 2022, Ford Motors is looking to launch eight electric models into Europe before the end of 2019, including electric variants of its Kuga and Puma SUVs and the Mondeo sedan. The car maker also plans to launch another nine electric vehicles in Europe

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Wire & Cable ASIA – November/December 2019