People
In the wave of artificial intelligence sweeping the globe, discussions about whether AI will massively replace human labor are increasing. This week, Foxconn's Chairman Liu Yangwei, in a speech at COMPUTEX, extensively discussed how AI will change future factory models and revealed that after internal experiments, AI is expected to complete 80% of standardized work.
Future Factories Will Take Shape in Three Stages
Liu Yangwei mentioned that since NVIDIA's CEO Jensen Huang confirmed the AI factory collaboration plan with Foxconn in 2023, the process of building future factories has been completely disrupted.
Previously, manufacturers would directly build physical factories. However, with AI tools, Foxconn's future factories might be developed in three stages: first, simulating with digital twin technology on NVIDIA's Omniverse platform, second, creating an AI factory to continuously optimize production lines, and finally, the physical factory.
Foxconn's AI Experiment
Liu Yangwei also pointed out that Foxconn's internal experiments on generative AI's application in the workplace show that AI can complete about 80% of work tasks. However, perhaps not wanting to sound too alarmist, he also emphasized:
For the remaining 20% of more complex work requiring professional judgment, skilled workers or technical personnel can do much better than generative AI.
Liu believes that AI and robotics technologies help developed countries address labor shortages, and corporate recruitment strategies are adjusting accordingly. While some tech giants have laid off employees, the demand for AI talent continues to grow.
We know that Foxconn's global production and manufacturing capabilities are among the best in the world, with tens of thousands of entry-level production line workers, and many Chinese cities have prospered due to Foxconn's presence. But imagine if in a few years, 80% of low-skilled labor could be replaced by AI, how many workers would be left without work? The thought is frightening.
AI's Application Potential in Manufacturing
Although highly complex manufacturing processes requiring professional judgment still rely on human intervention, broadly speaking, AI's automation potential in manufacturing is enormous. Oxford University predicts that by 2030, 20 million manufacturing jobs globally may be replaced by AI, with similar reports from the International Labor Organization, especially impacting highly repetitive work.
Some argue that while AI eliminates jobs, it also creates new ones, just like during the industrial and internet eras. Although I personally would like to be optimistic, honestly, I don't think it's that ideal.
Past technological innovations in the industrial and internet eras improved work efficiency, but still required human operation. However, in the AI era, artificial intelligence directly replaces humans - a cheaper, tireless worker. Now that LLMs can replace human brains and eyes, and when robots can mass-produce with hands and feet, standardized human work will become increasingly difficult to compete with AI...
Strategies and Collaboration in the AI Era
Therefore, facing the changes brought by AI, everyone must consider how to enhance collaboration with AI. Future policymakers also need to consider how to regulate AI applications, protect workers' rights, and cultivate future talent, so that while AI fundamentally changes the world, we can co-create a future of human-machine collaboration that is more intelligent and efficient.
