Committee on Industry, Research and Energy
by Hermione Ysabelle Buensuceso (IT)
Case study & introduction
The use of automation in industries is one of the most discussed topics today, even though the phenomenon has been on the rise for a long time. Automated machines first appeared during the Industrial Revolution, when Oliver Evans developed history’s first completely automated industrial process. The biggest change in industries though, began in the last century, in which robots had an essential part in the automotive industries, like the Fiat motor company.
In today’s industries, machines don’t just support workers with their activity: they actually do the job for them. An example of such industries is Itsvan Simon’s factory in western Hungary, which produces more than one million plastic parts everyday. What makes this industry stand out is the one and only sound that we can hear inside of it: the echo of machines continuously clicking and whirring. There’s no trace of men, only of robots.
During the last few decades, technological progress has affected all spheres of society, especially by reshaping the nature of work. Technology development has led to the implementation of robots in the working environment, which are able to perform tasks with little to no human intervention. According to the Join Research Centre (JRC), the intensified use of robots has contributed to the growth of labour productivity in European industries in the time period 1993-2015.
Despite the robots’ positive impact on the European economy, millions of jobs are at risk to be displaced by the arrival of new automated labour. As a matter of fact, about 20% of European labour risks being automated by 2030, which would reduce the employment rate by 0.16-0.20% depending on the robot density1of the Member States.
1The robot density is a measurement that tracks the number of robots per 10,000 workers in an industry.
Key problem
With forecasts that nearly millions of jobs in advanced economies may be potentially automated, it is no surprise that many European citizens fear that technology may replace workers. According to the International Federation of Robotics (IFR), the average robot density of Europe is 99 units. As a matter of fact, 3 of the most automated countries in the world are situated in Europe: Germany, Sweden and Denmark. As the robot density in automated European countries such as Germany started to increase, so did the number of workers who could possibly be displaced: currently, about 14% of jobs in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries are automatable.
Though not all departments will be replaced with robots, there are particular sectors which are more predisposed to automation, such as healthcare and agriculture. While many estimates claim that the unemployment rate would increase, other researchers claim that almost 100 million new jobs will surface, due to the remodelling of the division of labour between human workers and robot machines. As it happens, studies from the World Economic Forum (WEF) state that this massive number of new jobs will rely on advanced digital knowledge, especially about Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) subjects. This will make it imperative for jobseekers, and particularly for young students to prepare for high skilled technological jobs.
The presence of robots in industries, still, could disrupt the working environment and be damaging for workers rights in many ways. For example, the adequate living wage could be reduced, the safety of workers’ data could be at risk and, strictly related to the maintenance of robots, excessive surveillance can have a negative impact on the wellbeing of workers. In particular, one extra robot per 1,000 employees could lower wages by as much as 5%.
Key stakeholders and measures in place
The issue of automation falls under both the branches of industry and employment and social affairs, corresponding to supporting and shared competencies. According to the areas of action of the EU, whilst the European Commission can monitor national policies in policy areas such as economic policies, the main responsibility of releasing regulations is all up to the national governments, and the European Commission may only support and integrate the actions of Member States in other policy areas. This means that the EU has to approach the topic of automation through different competencies, such as the common agricultural policy (CAP).
Some of the most technologically advanced Member States, such as Germany and Sweden, have already adopted a legal framework for automation, whether it is for AI or robot machines in general. To be specific, in 2018 and in 2020, the Kingdom of Sweden and the German Federal Government have respectively adopted different AI strategies with the purpose of ensuring a responsible development of AI and promoting new initiatives, focused on sustainability and international cooperation: the National Approach to AI and the AI Strategy.
Although the EU Commission has adopted many policies related to digitalisation in the European Union, till this day, for automation regulation we only have the proposal from the EU Commission of the Artificial Intelligence Act, a legal framework that monitors the use of AI based on EU fundamental principles, and it represents the first attempt to globally regulate AI, that will possibly become a conventional norm like the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The purpose of this regulation is to create an ecosystem of trustworthy AI, to define mandatory requirements for the design and development of AI and to ensure the safety of its users, by adopting a risk-based approach to address specific levels of risks. For example, systems that are clearly a threat for people’s safety are labelled as unacceptable risk AI systems, and are banned for use.
Nevertheless, the European Parliament approved in 2017 the main regulation in regards to automation, being the basis of all these new policies regarding automation: the Civil Law Rules on Robotics. This report discusses the liability of robot technologies, the protection of data for the user’s privacy, the creation of a standard manufacturing quality, and the respect of fundamental ethical principles, so basically guidelines for an efficient development of robotics.
With automated robots being constantly involved in our lifestyle, as their availability in the market increases, so as their usage in big companies. Replacing employees with new generation robot machines has now become a common practice in industries, seeing how much productivity they bring to the market. This practice, aside from nurturing industries’ efficiency, has caused profound troubles to the displaced workers, particularly for women. These people need to find a new job, with possibly lower retributions. Nevertheless, what will be faced is the destruction vs creation of jobs: as was stated before, technology will also create and transform millions of jobs, not only ICT related subjects.
Notwithstanding Asia being the world’s largest robot market, with China reaching a record of 243.300 installations in a year versus the 75.600 units in Europe, after the pandemic, in 2021, the demand for robot technologies in Europe increased across all industries and the sales of industrial robots recovered after a year of decline, resulting in the electronics and automotive industries being the largest customers of industrial robots. Some of the biggest international automation manufacturer suppliers in Europe are FANUC, ABB and KUKA, which also helps companies implement automation in working spaces , not only in industries.The role of industrial robots also has a huge impact on reaching the sustainable development goals set by the United Nations (UN). For example, the use of solar panels makes the use of fossil fuels obsolete by using solar heats or electricity, while robots designed for agricultural purposes reduce the use of chemical agents, and the risks of these substances harming human workers.
Task
The topic of automation is quite controversial itself, especially among young people, and understanding this particular issue related to workers can be quite hard.
In order to comprehend the key aspects of the topic, I strongly suggest you watch this Ted Talk. It discusses the topic by presenting you with interesting statistics and examples.
I would also invite you to already start searching for two problems and two solutions for our topic. You can consult all of the links I’ve listed above, or also do your own research if you would like to expand the topic yourself. By doing so, we will be ready to work together during the session!