Behind every piece of automation is a human who made it happen.
Time to get a little personal. My interest in the future of work started long before my gig at MIT Technology Review.
Before I became a tech journalist, I got a degree in mechanical
engineering. While getting my degree, I saw the personal impact of
automation up close when I automated away someone’s job.
While interning at a company in Southern California, my manager asked me to implement 3-D printing to streamline a complicated mold-making process. I have long been obsessed with 3-D printing (I own two machines myself), so I was thrilled to introduce it into the business.
First I had to look at how the company currently made molds, so I sought out the man who did it. I’ll call him Gary. He was the only one who knew about the costs, the dimensions, and why these molds were made the way they were. The project wouldn’t work without him.
As he described the process and his role in it, I realized that making molds was Gary’s sole responsibility. He had spent over 30 years perfecting these tools and parts. If my project succeeded, I would be making him redundant.
While interning at a company in Southern California, my manager asked me to implement 3-D printing to streamline a complicated mold-making process. I have long been obsessed with 3-D printing (I own two machines myself), so I was thrilled to introduce it into the business.
First I had to look at how the company currently made molds, so I sought out the man who did it. I’ll call him Gary. He was the only one who knew about the costs, the dimensions, and why these molds were made the way they were. The project wouldn’t work without him.
As he described the process and his role in it, I realized that making molds was Gary’s sole responsibility. He had spent over 30 years perfecting these tools and parts. If my project succeeded, I would be making him redundant.
SOURCE:MIT DOWNLOAD
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