It
is a question that we are seeing more often in articles and on TV. A recent 60
Minutes (watch the story) segment gave the impression that robots might displace workers in
almost any job requiring manual tasks, and then in increasingly more difficult
tasks.
So,
do robots take jobs away from people?
 |
| Rethink Robotics Baxter |
The
answer is both ‘Yes’ and ‘No’.
In
the case of the robot ‘Baxter’ from Rethink Robotics the ‘Yes’ is primarily
aimed at jobs overseas. With its low operating cost per hour, Baxter can
compete favorably with overseas manufacturing labor rates. Rethink Robotics is
very intentional in their desire to ‘reshore’ manufacturing back to the US, and
to help keep existing manufacturing here.
The
intent with Baxter is to offload the repetitive, menial, simple tasks to a
robot, leaving humans to do jobs and tasks that require higher levels of
thinking and skills. If we can lower the cost to perform the simple, routine
tasks, the theory is that we will be able to afford to manufacture in the US,
hiring more qualified workers, thereby increasing employment.
Greg Selke
CEO ONExia Inc
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