Another View on “Will Robots Eliminate Jobs?”
The name ‘robot’ came from a play written by Czech writer, Karel Capel. ‘Robot’ was used to “denote fictional automata.” According to Wikipedia, “The play begins in a factory that uses a chemical substitute for protoplasm to manufacture living, simplified people called robots. The play does not focus in detail on the technology behind the creation of these living creatures, but in their appearance they prefigure modern ideas of androids, creatures who can be mistaken for humans. These mass-produced workers are depicted as efficient but emotionless, incapable of original thinking and indifferent to self-preservation.”
In 1954 George Devol invented the “first digitally operated and programmable robot” — he named it Unimate. Looking back on this event, it can be seen that this robot ended up becoming the underpinning of the modern robotics industry.
Devol sold Unimate to General Motors and in 1961 it was installed in a automotive manufacturing plant in Trenton, NJ. Its main function was to lift and stack, i.e., to lift hot metal pieces from a die cast machine and stack them for later use. As can be seen by this operation, robots have been used for one of three types of jobs:
- Performing a job with more accuracy and reliability than humans,
- Dangerous jobs or extreme environments (like the above),
- Jobs that are dull and boring.
Educational robots are used to teach how various STEM disciplines work together and do not necessarily encounter resistance from parents, educators, or students. However, there are heated discussions about jobs replacing workers. Since I receive articles from various sources regarding robots – both educational and industrial – I thought I would share a link to an article that asks the question, “But Will Robots Eliminate Jobs?” After reading this short paragraph, you can make up your own mind.
http://cross-automation.com/blog/use-robotbut-why
Quote of the Day: ““If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more, and become more, you are a leader.” – John Quincy Adams
Robots and Motors 