Monday 10 July 2017
ROBOTICS is not a threat to jobs in the North West but actually a job creator, according to Dr Steve Davis, lecturer in lecturer in manufacturing, automation and robotics.
As a growing number of North West businesses turn to
machines to support their workforces, artificial intelligence and automation
are becoming mainstream in many sectors of the economy.
“We shouldn’t see
robotics as a threat to jobs,” Dr Davis told a panel of experts debating the pitfalls
and possibilities of AI: “It’s about finding ways that AI can help businesses
grow and evolve.
“We have seen it before with the Industrial revolution but
also with the computer. It replaced the typewriter in many instances but that
didn’t result in mass unemployment – we all have different skills now.”
Upskilling
And Steve says the reason for his optimism is the upskilling
robotics allows: “New technology needs people to support it – for all of the
unskilled jobs it puts under threat, we’re creating new ones in manufacturing,
tech support and programming.
Steve, who works closely with the food industry, developing
automation and so called ‘soft-robots’ which can handle fragile objects such as
fruit and vegetables, adds: “A lot of companies were outsourcing work, but
embracing automation has actually helped them save jobs. They need to make sure
there are people on site who can deliver and provide maintenance for these
technologies.
The round table, which featured Glyn Powditch, chief
technology officer for Dream Agility, Neil Mort, director of CBRE, and John
Flint a partner in law firm Clarke Willmott, was organised by Move Commercial.
Dr Davis predicted that sectors like the creative industries
would see little impact yet: “I don’t think any of the creative industries will
be using this tech on a significant scale any time soon. Innovation is not what
AI does; it’s good at solving specific problems through set procedures but
thinking outside the box is not its’ strong point.”