HAMMER Time (Ben Armstrong, MIT) December 7, 2023 via Zoom

Title: The Second Robot Problem: Obstacles to Manufacturing Automation at Scale

Speaker:  Dr. Ben Armstrong is executive director and a research scientist at MIT’s Industrial Performance Center, where he co-leads the Work of the Future initiative. His research and teaching examine how workers, firms, and regions adapt to technological change. His current projects include a working group on generative AI and its impact on work, as well as a book on American manufacturing competitiveness. His research has been published or featured in academic and popular outlets including the New York Times, Harvard Business Review, Forbes, Times Higher Education, the Boston Review, Daedalus, and Economic Development Quarterly. He received his PhD from MIT and formerly worked at Google Inc.

Objective: Despite significant advances in robotic and other automation technologies over the past three decades, robot adoption in manufacturing remains the exception rather than the rule. Only 12% of manufacturing facilities in the United States have any robot adoption at all, and only half of those facilities report moderate or high use of robotics. What explains why manufacturing firms have had such difficulty scaling up their use of robotic automation? Drawing on robot sales data, case studies, and interviews, this seminar will identify technical, workforce, and management characteristics that differentiate robot power users. It will also discuss the ways in which public policy and training programs have the potential to shape the adoption of robots and related technologies.