It's started: Robot Uprising Begins as China Turns to Machines to Fill in Gaps in the Workforce

[Beidou2020]

Very good news. The 13th 5-Year plan has specific focus on indigenous automation of manufacturing. I believe that byt the end of the decade, the domestic content will reach 50%.

Chinese companies taking majority marketshare in Industrial robots and 3D printing industries are key.

 

[cirr]

DAVOS - WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM

On the ground at the Summer Davos: The best of WEF Tianjin

Nyshka Chandran | @nyshkac

5 Hours Ago

Monday, June 27: WEF says hello to Jia Jia

China is the world's largest market for industrial robots so it's no surprise that the man-made machines are one of the major highlights at this year's Tianjin event.

On the second floor of the massive convention center hosting this year's World Economic Forum (WEF) conference, participants came face-to-face with a well-groomed, white-robed Chinese lady by the name of Jia Jia.

When addressed in Mandarin, Jia Jia is able to converse, seen by lip movements, and show "micro" facial expressions. She can also decipher your age and gender, earning her the nickname "Robot Goddess," a nod to her good looks and apparent intelligence.

VCG | VCG | Getty Images
Jia Jia is examined by a journalist after her unveiling in April 2016 at the University of Science and Technology of China in Hefei.

Created in 2014 by scientists at the University of Science and Technology of China (UST), she's the third-generation of humanoid robots produced by the university.

Jia Jia is connected to the university's cloud computing platform so her ability to process human emotions and interact are enhanced every time the team uploads fresh data, explained a UST spokesperson.

Aside from being a WEF attraction, Jia Jia has previously been a museum guide, a shopping mall salesperson and a talk show host.

VCG | Getty Images
Jia Jia is able to make basic conversation in Mandarin, as well as some small facial expressions.

Sales of industrial robots rose 17 percent in China last year, according to the International Federation of Robotics, but that was significantly lower than 2014's 56 percent increase. Despite the slowdown, the nation still accounted for more than a quarter of the 248,000 industrial robots sold globally.

"We hope Jia Jia will become part of the world soon," said the UST spokesperson. "In the future, once we create more robots, she will be able to share knowledge with others, creating a robot social network. Eventually, these robots will be able to talk to each other."

Also on display at WEF was the 'Socially Aware Robot Assistant,' or SARA, developed by Carnegie Mellon University.

SARA is designed to collaborate with human users and personalize the human-machine interaction experience through an analysis of the user's social behavior thanks to a unique version of socially-aware artificial intelligence.

At WEF, SARA acted as a personal assistant for conference attendees but she's also used for educational purposes. She interacts with autistic children as a way for them to acquire and practice social skills while also acting as a resource for students in under-developed schools.

This April, Beijing announced it intended to triple industrial robot production to 100,000 per year by 2020, from fewer than 33,000 in 2015, citing booming demand in health care, scientific research and domestic service sectors.

http://www.cnbc.com/2016/06/27/on-the-ground-at-the-summer-davos-the-best-of-wef-tianjin.html

 

[cirr]

Jia Jia, who was on display at the Summer Davos Forum, is the third generation humanoid robot created by the University of Science and Technology of China. (Photo: China News Service)

 

[greenwood]

lovely, can she walk?

 

[chanikya]

Its looks awesome, keep up the work China

 

[livingdead]

lovely, can she walk?

more importantly can she cook?

 

[greenwood]

more importantly can she cook?

good question.

@cirr hey, sir, have her greeting videos?

 

[graphican]

lovely, can she walk?

Can she do more than walking..?

 

[Oldman1]

more importantly can she cook?

Looks like she could escape like the Russian robot did.

 

[cirr]

Looks like she could escape like the Russian robot did.

Viets like you should be seen not heard.

 

[Oldman1]

Viets like you should be seen not heard.

http://www.livescience.com/55164-russian-robot-escapes-lab-again.html

Artificially Intelligent Russian Robot Makes a Run for It … Again

The Russians just developed a better AI than yours.

 

[RoadRunner401]

Well if she is not a back street driver plus doesn't nag, gets ready in minutes not hours, I will take two.

 

[Mista]

JiaJia:

Another humanoid developed by Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore:

Obviously JiaJia looks much more attractive. NTU should make Nadine younger to compete with JiaJia in the marriage market.

 

[Mista]

http://qz.com/727102/robots-are-set...illions-of-asian-workers-in-the-coming-years/

In the next few decades, about 56% of all salaried workers in Cambodia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam could be displaced by automation and advanced technologies, such as 3D printing. That’s the conclusion of an extensive series of new studies by the International Labour Organization (ILO).

Mass-scale displacement won’t happen overnight, but it’s already in the works. Robots, for instance, are increasingly handling the labor previously done by low-skilled workers in industries such as automotive and electronics manufacturing. For governments and employers willing to educate and train workers for new, high-tech jobs, the shift could benefit all as it raises productivity and wages. But employers and countries that continue to rely on low-cost manual labor as their chief competitive advantage risk being left behind in the global economy, the ILO said.

Of the five industries examined by the studies, workers in textiles, clothing, and footwear were the most at risk. The sector encompasses 9 million jobs across the ASEAN member states the report covers, the majority held by women. These jobs often entail simple manual tasks that are becoming easily automated, such as cutting fabric.

In Vietnam, the ILO report documents, one clothing manufacturer that invested in automated cutting machines last year was able to replace 15 workers for each machine. In 18 months, it will prove more cost-effective than continuing to employ the workers. Fewer workers are needed, and those employed each manage three to four machines.


Automation won’t necessarily proliferate across the ASEAN countries, according to the ILO. The spread of robotic sewing machines, or “sewbots,” will likely happen in Europe and the US, as companies seek to bring manufacturing and production closer to their main consumer markets. Adidas recently unveiled a new robot “Speedfactory” in Germany, and plans to shift production from China.

The robots are coming…to make your sneakers.(Adidas)

Though China, too, is putting money into machines to remain competitive with its lower-cost neighbors. Take Esquel Group, a Hong Kong-based firm that produces more than 100 million shirts a year, which has invested in automation to boost productivity as Chinese wages rise.
It’s Southeast Asian workers who are most at risk of losing their jobs, according to the report. Some 64% of textile, clothing, and footwear workers in Indonesia could be replaced by robots. Those numbers rise to 86% in Vietnam, and 88% in Cambodia.

“Countries that compete on low-wage labour need to reposition themselves,” Deborah France-Massin, director of the ILO’s Bureau for Employers’ Activities, said in a statement. “Policymakers need to create a more conducive environment that leads to greater human capital investment, research and development, and high-value production.”

The report doesn’t cover Bangladesh as it’s not in ASEAN, but there’s probably no country more dependent on cheap manual labor. The garment industry, which employs 4 million workers, accounts for about 82% of the country’s total exports.


Such a situation is problematic, says Sabina Dewan, president of the JustJobs Network, a think-tank focused on global employment and development. “If I perceive low-cost labor to be my competitive advantage, why would I want to upgrade the skills of my workers when they’re just going to ask for higher wages?” she says. Bangladesh’s dependence on one sector also means workers have few other industries to absorb them if they lose jobs to automation.

“In the long-run, such a model that relies on exploiting cheap labor is unsustainable,” she says.

 

[Laozi]

Don't worry, Trust Humans to create as many New Jobs as one can think of to remain busy and productive.

BTW You will be surprised to know how few jobs are actually needed for human race to survive on this planet.