Wednesday, February 10, 2016
Japanese company opens all-robot factory; some insight on economic decisions.
This article about the Japanese cosmetic company Shiseido opening an all-robot factory has some interesting information on the economics behind their decision. For example, "in other countries, automation often fuels concerns about layoffs, yet Japan’s shrinking labor force justifies a move to more robots."
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In this case, then an all robot facility would be useful! It could cause reduced demand for labor workers, however in an environment where labor is short, it could be useful. Also, that factory will likely not have to worry about safety concerns among its workers using heavy machinery. It seems, in this case, to have more benefits.
ReplyDeleteFunny how, in the final example presented by the article, the caretaker of the old woman would have quit had she not been able to use the lift. So, rather than take her job, the robot prolongs it!
ReplyDeleteThat was the second article, which I only linked to because it was linked in the quote I pulled out of the first article. I actually hadn't read that one, only skimmed it, but it looks like it's worth reading too.
DeleteIt will also be interesting to see if companies in other countries will try and use more robots, here in the US I think they would face a lot more criticism.
ReplyDeleteWhy do you think that the US would face a lot more criticism??
DeleteI wonder too if those jobs that are dangerous for humans would be replaced by robots. But then how do the people that need those low paying jobs get money to survive? I don't know how these situations would play out