New research puts a number on the job costs of automation. In many parts of the U.S., robots have been replacing workers over the last few decades. But to what extent, really? Some technologists have forecast that automation will lead to a future without work, while other observers have been more skeptical about such scenarios. By Massachusetts Institute of Technology, original written by Peter Dizikes.
Now a study co-authored by an MIT professor puts firm numbers on the trend, finding a very real impact – although one that falls well short of a robot takeover. The study also finds that in the U.S., the impact of robots varies widely by industry and region, and may play a notable role in exacerbating income inequality.
From 1990 to 2007, the study shows, adding one additional robot per 1,000 workers reduced the national employment-to-population ratio by about 0.2 percent, with some areas of the U.S. affected far more than others.
This means each additional robot added in manufacturing replaced about 3.3 workers nationally, on average.
That increased use of robots in the workplace also lowered wages by roughly 0.4 percent during the same time period.
In the U.S., four manufacturing industries account for 70 percent of robots: automakers (38 percent of robots in use), electronics (15 percent), the plastics and chemical industry (10 percent), and metals manufacturers (7 percent). To learn more follow the link to the full article. Interesting!
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