Automation

Automation (ancient Greek: = self dictated) or industrial automation is the use of computers to control industrial machinery and processes, replacing human operators. It is a step beyond mechanization, where human operators are provided with machinery to help them with manual work. The most visible part of automation can be said to be industrial robotics. Some advantages are repeatability, tighter quality control, waste reduction, integration with business systems, increased productivity and reduction of labour. Some disadvantages are high initial costs and increased dependence on maintenance.

Social issues of automation

Automation raises several important social issues. Among them is automation's impact on employment.

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Some argue automation leads to higher employment. One author made that case here:

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When automation was first introduced, it caused widespread fear. It was thought that the displacement of human workers by computerized systems would lead to unemployment (this also happened with mechanization, centuries earlier). In fact the opposite was true, the freeing up of the labor force allowed more people to enter information jobs, which are typically higher paying. One odd side effect of this shift is that "unskilled labor" now pays very well in most industrialized nations, because fewer people are available to fill such jobs leading to supply and demand issues.

Related Topics:
Unemployment - Supply and demand

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Some, such as technocrats, argue the reverse, at least in the long term. First, automation has only just begun and short-term conditions might partially obscure its long-term impact. For instance many manufacturing jobs left the United States during the early 1990s, but a massive upscaling of IT jobs at the same time offset this as a whole.

Related Topics:
Technocrats - IT

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It appears that automation does devalue unskilled labour through its replacement with less-expensive machines, however the overall effect of this on the workforce as a whole remains unclear. Today automation of the workforce in the "western world" is quite advanced, yet during the same period the general wellbeing of its citizens has increased dramatically. What role automation played in these changes has not been well studied.

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