Daniel Aiello

Professor Parker

ENGL 1302

6/20/18

AI and the Automotive Industry?

With the rate at which technology is expanding today, we are not far from having

various forms of AI running our lives. As a matter of fact it has already begun. Various

forms of AI are running tasks for us on a daily basis whether it be Alexa or Google Home
putting something on your shopping list, to having cars that can drive themselves so that

you don’t have to. Although there are some that are skeptical of letting robots take over

areas of our lives this isn't necessarily a bad thing. The assistance of artificial intelligence

is actually very beneficial in creating new career opportunities in the automotive industry,

increasing the consistency of quality goods coming from automotive factories, and

increasing the overall safety of the people on the road.

There is an argument to be made on both sides of the isle on whether or not

putting more machine in the factories of the automotive industry will create more jobs or

not. The argument coming from the opposition is that these machines operate on their

own without the need of human intervention or control. This does create an issue in the

work place that does tend to have businesses let their employees go because they do not

have to pay a salary for this machinery, nor does it need to take breaks like that of a

human, it is just a one-time buy that can just keep working and increase productivity from

the line. However, these machines create new jobs just by being there. Just because the

job on the line has been taken by the machine does not mean that there isn't still a job

there. There needs to be someone who can fix these machines when they go down and to

update the AI running them so that they can be more efficient. So, this in turn increases

the demand of mechanical engineers that can properly work on this equipment, while also

increasing the demand for IT that can work on the programing of the artificial
intelligence that these machines operate on. As Richard Works wrote in his work, The

Impact of Technology on Labor Markets, that although these new machines and AI could

potentially displace current workers in the work force, he also brings up how it can cause

the "Price-Productivity effect." What this means is that because of the increase of the

robotics in the factories will overall increase the production of the automotive industry,

the industry owners are able to expand their business and hire more workers because of

the increase in the "demand of labor." This can also boost the economy simply because

of the fact that machinery is so profitable in the workplace, allowing for the creation of
new jobs to fill the demand of labor for the industry's expansion. This in turn will

actually put more money into the pockets of their employees for instance when the cotton

gin was first introduced and increased the production of textiles so much that prices

actually went down, and people didn’t have to spend as much in order to buy textiles, so

their money could be spent elsewhere increasing both the quality of their lives and the

state of the economy. So, although integrating artificial intelligence into the automotive

industry may end up taking some jobs at first, it can actually create new jobs in the field

that can maintain both the physical aspect of these machines as well as the software that

runs them, while also creating even more jobs further down the line.

There are many ups and downs to having artificial intelligence running the make

lines in the automotive industry's workshops, however, one cannot deny that a machine

and a computer program can do certain tasks more efficiently than a human and can

consistently repeat it. What I mean by this is that although human labor isn't a bad thing,

there is no denying that a machine that is programed to do the same task over and over

again, will complete that given task faster than that of a human. Not only will it be able

to complete tasks faster, but it will also be able to keep the same quality in every single

piece it pumps out, whether that be the door to a car or reinforcing the frame of the

vehicle. Also, an added benefit is that the robot will not get tired, nor will it get hungry

and need a break. From the work "Is a Cambrian Explosion Coming for Robotics,"
written by Gill A. Pratt, he states that with our modern day electronic capabilities

engineers are able to create machines that improve the industries productivity as well as

"the quality of what is designed and the sophistication of what can be designed." The

reason these machines can just keep pumping out products the same way every time all

ties back to the programing of the machine. It took someone to create an artificial

intelligence for the machine to run off of so that it could independently work on the task

it was designed to do without needing a human to operate it. Without the implementation

of that AI into the automotive industry's machinery these robots would be nothing more
than tools operated by humans which would in turn leave more room for error in the

production process. No one wants to be driving their car and have something go wrong

internally with it because of some manufacturing mistake made by a human when it could

have been avoided all together by having a more efficient machine running off the

instructions of an artificial intelligence specifically designed to ensure that error doesn’t

happen in the first place.

Finally, what can be considered the most important of all of the benefits is that of

safety. Who doesn’t want the safest possible car on the market? If everyone had the

choice they would choose to have it, although some can not afford it, more and more cars

are being put out into the market with these AIs running in them. With the new AI that

can be implemented into the cars that the automotive industry develops, your car can

essentially drive its self now. From breaking for you if you happen to not be paying

attention, to actually driving for you, these cars artificial intelligence systems are making

the roads safer. As stated in Michael A. Fletcher's passage in "Road to the Future:

Google, Others Pave the Way for Self-Driving Cars" the on-board computers being put

inside of vehicles now are allowing cars to slow themselves down, park themselves, and

keep themselves in their lanes which in turn has been creating a safer environment for the

road. This would be impossible for the car to be able to accomplish if artificial

intelligence wasn't being put into cars. What the National Highway Transportation
Safety Administration is working towards is to have sophisticated AI be put into the car

that would allow cars to communicate with one another to help prevent accidents and

allow cars to one day perhaps drive themselves.

The current state of artificial intelligence is rapidly changing and continuing to

develop allowing the automotive industry to continue to improve. Although there may be

some that are skeptical to having AI taking over the industry there are many pluses to the

business and the economy for allowing the implementation of machines and AI over that

of human work on the production line. Also, with the ever-improving AI that is being
placed within the computers in vehicles it is actually becoming much safer for the drivers

out on the roads. Overall the automotive industry has been greatly affected in a positive

way as can be seen through the increase in job potential within the factories, the

production quality of goods being greatly increased and being constantly good in quality,

and lastly by increasing their consumer base's safety through their onboard AI systems

allowing the cars to assist the driver.

Works Cited

Fletcher, Michael A. “Road to the Future: GOOGLE, OTHERS PAVE WAY FOR

SELF-DRIVING CARS.” US Black Engineer and Information Technology, vol.

39, no. 1, 2015, pp. 64–65. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/43773229.

Works, Richard. “The Impact of Technology on Labor Markets.” Monthly Labor

Review, 2017, pp. 1–2. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/90011599.

Pratt, Gill A. “Is a Cambrian Explosion Coming for Robotics?” The Journal of

Economic Perspectives, vol. 29, no. 3, 2015, pp. 51–60. JSTOR, JSTOR,
www.jstor.org/stable/43550120.

TG. “Artificial Intelligence: STEERING COMMITTEE.” ASEE Prism, vol. 25,

no. 4, 2015, pp. 12–12. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/43827843.