Are We Through Being Scared of Factory Automation?

One thing is clear when you browse internet headlines about manufacturing, factory automation, or industrial robots. Humanity is doomed. Well, the human workforce is doomed, anyway.

Most headlines about factory automation center around the marvelous capabilities of factory robots and the fact that man can’t compete with machine.

However, an increasing number of these headlines are talking less about how workers will be out of a job, and how factory automation will reshape the way that humans work in manufacturing and other sectors.

Are we through being scared of automation?

One way to view this shift is to say that we’re no longer afraid of automation. Instead of worrying about machines making the entire human race redundant, we realize that humanity would never make itself useless.

We look at centuries of fear and concern over automation’s effect on employment and realize that we still have a job. No matter what menial task we train robots to do, we find new and better ways to find work and contribute to society.

Of course, there’s another way to view the shift in tone.

Nothing has changed

It’s not that we’ve been dealing with automation long enough to realize that it’s not a threat. It’s just that we’ve gotten used to our current level of automation without any of the predicted fallout.

As soon as the next big breakthrough in automation or AI surfaces, we’ll have the same doomsday predictions we’ve grown accustomed to.

There are those who fear automation threatens livelihood and those who believe automation improves our lives. It’s likely that those factions will always exist. General consensus just depends on who is more vocal.

Never fear! Call 479-422-0390 for Indramat support

You, however, aren’t afraid of factory automation. You’ve been using factory machinery for decades, so why fear it now? The only thing you’re afraid of is downtime.

When it’s time to get a factory repair for your Indramat drive, or you need to replace your Indramat servos, give us a call. We can help troubleshoot Indramat errors and faults, too! Call 479-422-0390 today.