Electricity + Control April 2018

CONTROL SYSTEMS + AUTOMATION + SYSTEMS ENGINEERING

How Robots will Change the World

Andrea Willige, Consultant

Automation will replace many menial, routine tasks and generate opportunities for more qualified jobs and wealth creation.

• In Amazon warehouses many orders are picked and packaged by robots. In the wine-making in- dustry in many regions around the world, ‘wine bots’ prune vines to boost labour during the harvest. Apart from legal ‘doc reviews’, inspecting industrial and power plants, bomb disposal and firefighting, robots and AI are helping us in many ways. Take Note! 1 2 3

D ystopian views of robotics, automation and Artificial Intelligence (AI) are a famil- iar staple of popular culture, tapping in to some of our most basic fears. Just like the Spin- ning Jenny and the Steam Engine during the first Industrial Revolution in the late 18 th Century, new automation technologies raise concerns about job losses and even a wider erosion of human control. In reality, the ‘Fourth Industrial Revolution’ is likely to go the same way as the first. Yes, disrup- tive technologies will bring fundamental change to re-train and reinvent themselves. But, as with the first Industrial Revolution, the most like- ly outcome is that automation will replace many menial, routine tasks and generate opportunities for more qualified jobs and wealth creation.

More rewarding work for humans In Amazon’s warehouses, many orders are now picked and packaged by robots. There are 45 000 robots in action in 20 fulfilment centres worldwide. Robots are helping out in rather more refined industries too. In France and other wine-making regions around the world, ‘wine bots’ have tak- en on pruning vines in vineyards, addressing the challenge of finding sufficient labour during the harvest. And it’s not just manual work anymore. For lawyers and paralegals, AI can now take on the tedious, time-consuming ‘doc reviews’ that used to take up countless manhours by automatically pouring over hundreds of documents for mentions of specific words or concepts. Not only is this a faster, more efficient approach, it also means legal practitioners can focus on more rewarding aspects of their jobs. A robot currently being developed by Mitsubi- shi Heavy Industries Group will automate or ‘un- man’ another laborious routine task: Inspecting in- dustrial and power plants. Equipped with cameras

We shouldn’t expect a world of robotic overlords reminiscent of the Terminator movies. Experts view the role of robot- ics AI as being closer to Jarvis in the ‘Ironman’ series – an AI system which assists its human creator rather than replacing it.