Flexible Automation as a Special Application of Information Technology and Division of Labour

NOT FOR QUOTATION WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE AUTHOR

FLEXIBLE AUTOMATION AS A SPECIAL APPLICATION OF INFORMATION

TECHNOLOGY AND DIVISION OF LABOUR

A. Schiiler December 1982 CP-82-86

C o Z Z a b o r a t i v e P a p e r s report work which has not been performed solely at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis and which has received only

limited review. Views or opinions expressed herein do not necessarily represent those of the Institute, its National Member Organizations, or other organi- zations supporting the work.

INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR APPLIED SYSTEMS ANALYSIS A-2367 Laxenburg, Austria

PREFACE

This paper by Dr. Schuler was presented at a joint seminar on flexible automation held in Berlin (East) from June 8-11, 1 9 8 2 .

The seminar was a collaborative project between IIASA and the Academy of Sciences of the German Democratic Republic.

This paper deals with specific changes brought about by the application of microelectronic components in manufacturing automation.

Tibor Vasko

Innovation Management Task Leader Management and Technology

December 1 9 8 2

CONTENTS

1 . THE I S S U E 1

2 . F L E X I B I L I T Y , CONTROL AND D I V I S I O N OF LABOUR 3

3 . F L E X I B I L I T Y OF AUTOMATION AND THE PATTERN OF MAN-COMPUTER MACHINE SYSTEMS

4 . COMPUTER INTEGRATED MANUFACTURING SYSTEMS AND

D I V I S I O N OF LABOUR 8

5. REFERENCES 11

FLEXIBLE AU!l?OBbATION AS A SPECIAL APPLICATIOB OF 1 ~ ~ TECEIT0I;OGY 1 0 AND ~DIVISION OF LABoUR A, Schiiler

T e c h n i c a l U n i v e r s i t y Ilmenau GDR

The I s s u e

Two considerations may aerve t o e x p l a i n t h e chosen t o p i c ,

A l l the world over we meet with unanimous consent that we witness a period of tremendous upheavals i n production technology today and i n the years ahead, There may a l s o be

no

doubt about

i t

that t h e s e w i l l lead t o considerable and i n t r i n s i c changes i n s o c i a l r e l a t i o n s , s t r u c t u r e s , and

modes of l i f e , Albeit opinions d i f f e r extremely w h a t kind o f t u r n these changes w i l l take, There a r e those who believe that technological progress w i l l cure a l l our i l l s , whereas o t h e r s on t h e contrary see

i t

doom mankind t o d i s a s t e r , "For b e t t e r o r worseN w a s t h e heading o f t h e report submitted t o the meeting of t h e Club of Rome on microelectronics i n

February 1982 ( F r i e d r i c h s , Schaff 1982). It i s now my f i r s t contention that we may analyse and diagnose current ex- periences on t h e b a s i s of case s t u d i e s , but

no

r e l i a b l e f o r e c a s t s w i l l be possible u n l e s s we t r y t o f i n d out w h a t i s a t t h e root of t h e process we a r e watching,

To do this

-

^{and this i s my} second contention

-

^{we need}

a c l e a r concept of a methodological approach, Most o f w h a t I have read on t h e subject confines i t s e l f , a s

i t

seema, t o draw a t t e n t i o n t o one o r more c h a r a c t e r i s t i c f e a t u r e s of technological progress, sometimes s i n g l i n g out one of them a s t h e outstanding, basic and fundamental f o r c e o f t h e s c i e n t i f i c - t e c h n o l o g i c a l revolution, A s of t e n a s not no

attempt has even been made t o explain why this should be so.

S t r e s s i s l a i d on new sources o f energy, new raw m a t e r i a l s ,

techniques and/or instruments of labour. I n

most

c a s e s t h e d e c i s i v e r o l e of instruments of labour i s emphasised.

The l a t t e r point of view, e. g., i s most f o r c i b l y

argued by Ebel (1982)against those who p r e f e r t o g r a n t a key p o s i t i o n t o production techniques. He i s s u r e l y q u i t e r i g h t i n condernmning a l l attempts t o i s o l a t e techniques from in- struments of l a b o u r , but quoting Earx i n support of h i s views he f o r g e t s t h a t i n volume 1 of tvCapitalN (Marx edn.

1962) t h e a n a l y s i s of t h e l a b o u r p r o c e s s precedes t h e a n a l y s i s o f the development of instruments of labour.

Furthermore

Narx '

s a n a l y s i s of the i n d u s t r i a l r e v o l u t i o n may serve a s a good s t a r t i n g point i n t h e quest f o r t h e me- thodological t o o l t o s a l v e o u r problem,

Generally speaking every process of labour i s a process i n which man a c q u i r e s o b j e c t s of nature and adapts them t o his use. T h i s process i s an e n t i t y of transformation of m a t - t e r , energy and information, and a t the o u t s e t consequently expense of l a b o u r i s simultaneously expense of physical and i n t e l l e c t u a l f a c u l t i e s . Benjamin F r a n k l i n a p t l y defined

man

as a ntoolmaking a n i m a l n , and during t h e n e o l i t h i c a g r a r i a n r e v o l u t i o n he l e a r n e d not only t o pick up o r bunt whatever n a t u r e would o f f e r f r e e l y , but t o s y s t e m a t i c a l l y c u l t i v a t e , i. e. produce.

A s long a s simple t o o l s dominated i n production, d i v i - s i o n of l a b o u r d i d not a f f e c t t h e i n i t i a l u n i t y of physical and i n t e l l e c t u a l l a b o u r i n s m a l l s c a l e production. Where

they indeed were separated i n slave-owning modes of production, reducing s l a v e s t o be an vinstrumentum vocalen, this

i n

t h e long run proved t o be i n e f f i c i e n t at t h a t s t a g e o f develop- ment of productive f o r c e s .

The second s i g n i f i c a n t r e v o l u t i o n of technology was brought about by t h e i n d u s t r i a l revolution, W i t h t h e advent of machines complex t e c h n i c a l equipment could be employed t o e f f e c t t h e transformation o f matter and energy, r e l e a s i n g man from most o f physical (manual) f u n c t i o n s of l a b o u r ,

thereby r a i s i n g t h e scope, s c a l e , p r o d u c t i v i t y , p r e c i s i o n e t c . of t h e s e a c t i o n s by more than one o r d e r of magnitude.

Control as transformation of information remained mainly with t h e o p e r a t o r of t h e machine, although as science p r o - gressed t o mature i n t o

an

independent and ever more impor- t a n t productive f o r c e , h i g h e r i n t e l l e c t u a l f u n c t i o n s were separated from t h e worker i n t h e workshop whose t a s k s i n most c a s e s were not only deprived of scope of p h y s i c a l , but a l s o o f mental a c t i v i t y . The i n d u s t r i a l r e v o l u t i o n swept a s i d e a l l impediments t o t h e evolution o f c a p i t a l i s m , e f - f e c t i n g with a new d i v i s i o n of labour between man and ma- chine a new s o c i a l d i v i s i o n of labour and a new s o c i a l s t r u c t u r e . The r e s u l t i n g s o c i a l c o n d i t i o n s a r e too well known a s t o m e r i t t o enlarge upon them.

I n analogy

i t

seems f a i r l y evident t h a t modern informa- t i o n technology now enables u s t o convey i n t e l l e c t u a l func-

t i o n s of l a b o u r t o machines on a s i m i l a r s c a l e a s t h e indu- s t r i a l r e v o l u t i o n did f o r physical operations. And .a c l o s e r look w i l l r e v e a l f u r t h e r s i m i l a r i t i e s between t h e two revo- l u t i o n s . The mechanisation of physical o p e r a t i o n w a s made p o s s i b l e when i n t e r n a l d i v i s i o n of l a b o u r i n manufacture a s described by Adam Smith (edn. 1937) s p l i t up complex jobs i n t o simple elementary operations. Since t h e s e implied regu- l a r and geometrically uniform movements of t o o l s , i t w a s not any too d i f f i c u l t t o a t t a c h t h e t o o l t o a guiding mechanism and

t o

d r i v e t h i s e i t h e r by hand o r any kind of engine. A f a i r l y u n i v e r s a l p o s s i b i l i t y of t e c h n i c a l i n f o m a t i o n proces-

sing

was found by subdividing complex t a s k s i n t o elementary ( b i - ) l o g i c a l ^. o p e r a t i o n s which can be implemented techni-

xy

^{by any kind}

^{o f}

b i s t a b l e device. The i n t r o d u c t i o n of e l e c t r o n i c s and p a r t i c u l a r l y o f microelectronics l e d t o a l e v e l of performance t o make t e c h n i c a l computation a

f e a s i b l e p r o p o s i t i o n on major scale.

I take t e c h n i c a l information processing t o .be t h e more general concept i n r e l a t i o n t o automation, a ) because

i t s

f i e l d of a p p l i c a t i o n i s much more ample t h a n production pro- c e s s e s , and b )

i t

enables u s t o understand t h e new q u a l i t y o f f l e x i b l e automation.

F l e x i b i l i t y , Control and Division o f Labour

Automation, of course, i s much o l d e r than o u r contem- porary i n f o m a t i o n technology which i t s e l f has

i t s

ancestors.

Automata a r e r e p o r t e d of

f a r

back i n h i s t o m . Thes accompanv

- -

t h e h i s t o r y of Zechnology mainly with open loop c o n t r o l s up t o t h e present, Watt's c e n t r i f u g a l governor _- i s t h e c l a s s i c a l example-of a feed-back control. If we consider NC-machines t o be f l e x i b l e automation, t h e n t h e "punch cardw c o n t r o l l e d Jacquard loom belongs t o t h a t c l a s s of machinery. I n a l l t h e s e cases some s o r t o f c o n t r o l handles and transforms i n - formation t o some degree.

\'&at then, we may a s k , i s t h e new dimension of o u r cont e m ~ o r a t s no t i o n of f l e x i b l e automation? Evidently a new q u a l i t y o f c o n t r o l i s achieved by t h e q u a n t i t y of in?orma- t i o n a processed, o r more p r e c i s e l y , t h e number and kind of process parameters c o n t r o l l e d and t h e speed o f computing.

The number of process parameters of a machine t o o l i s f a i r l y l i m i t e d ; t h e i r c o n t r o l may with some l i b e r t y be

compared with t h e t a s k o f . s t e e r i n g a r a i l bound vehicle.

Supposing no feed-back t o be needed, c o n t r o l may be achieved by punched d a t a c a r r i e r s i n much t h e same way as Jacquard used f o r his loom. Q u i t e d i f f e r e n t a p r o p o s i t i o n i s t h e con- t r o l o f a robot t h a t i s expected t o c a r r y out movements

similar t o those of human l i m b s . According t o our analogy

i t s

counterpart would be a t r a c k l e s s vehicle. And t h e

b a r r i e r t o complexity between t h e two examples can only be overcome by t h e u n i v e r s a l p o s s i b i l i t i e s and t h e speed of

e l e c t r o n i c computing, the microcomputer enabling widespread a p p l i c a t i o n .

The p o s s i b i l i t y of t e c h n i c a l information processing re- quired i n a l l s e c t o r s of s o c i e t y on a m a s s production s c a l e l e a d s t o far-reaching changes i n the d i v i s i o n of l a b o u r , j u s t a s progressing d i v i s i o n o f labour m u l t i p l i e s t h e needs f o r communication and information processing,

The d i v i s i o n of labour between man and machine i s

changed fundamentally: A man-computer-machine system r e p l a c e s t h e man-machine system. I n this p a t t e r n a new component

appears, communication between man and t e c h n i c a l a r t i f a c t s as well a s communication between such a r t i f a c t s themselves. T h i s new q u a l i t y of more o r l e s s i n t e l l i g e n t machines has not only

s i g n i f i c a n t economic and s o c i a l e f f e c t s ,

i t

a l s o l e a d s t o remarkable psychological r e s u l t s . O w n observations f o r i n - stance confirm t h a t o p e r a t o r s tend t o personify t h e i n s t r u - ment they have t o confer with, they accept

i t

a s p a r t n e r , colleague, " p a l n t o be nicknamed e t c . We must of course bear i n mind, t h a t i n t h e GDR s o c i a l s e c u r i t y i s granted and

t h e i r job i s not threatened. Under t h e s e circumstances and even i n such cases where they a r e r e l i e v e d f r o m s k i l l s and d e c i s i o n s formerly needed, they o f t e n do

not

f e e l t h e i r work t o be downgraded and take p r i d e i n t h e f a c t t o be master of such a modern, b e a u t i f u l and e f f i c i e n t equipment t h a t multi- p l i e s t h e i r own c a p a b i l i t i e s . T h i s communication between man and machine may well prove t o c o n t r i b u t e t o an enrichment of p e r s o n a l i t y , as long as i t does not a l i e n a t e t h e i n d i v i d u a l worker from his f e l l o w s , pushing human intercommimication i n t o t h e background,

A t t h e same time s o c i a l d i v i s i o n of labour i s s u b j e c t t o changes not only within t h e workshop o r bureau, but be- tween s e c t o r s of economy and within t h e whole s o c i a l s t r u c - t u r e . Evidently this paper cannot survey t h e e n t i r e problem, l a c k i n g not only space but a l s o knowledge t o t a c k l e such a task. I

mst

confine myself t o regard some few questions

P

rompted by t h e working paper submitted t o o u r discussion.

Haustein, Maier 1982)

F l e x i b i l i t y of Automation and t h e P a t t e r n of Man-Computer Xac hine S s s t ems

If we admit t h e q u a n t i t y of informations t o be proces- sed w i t h i n a time u n i t t o be t h e d i s t i n c t i v e f e a t u r e d e t e r - mining t h e p r o p e r t i e s of t h e c o n t r o l system,

it

l o g i c a l l y follows t o be uneconomic t o overelaborate t h e c o n t r o l beyond t h e requirements of t h e process. On this i s s u e we f i n d

o u r s e l v e s i n f u l l agreement with the working paper mentioned, It i s j u s t as wasteful t o l e a v e unused instrumental s k i l l s a s

i t

i s wasteful t o leave human s k i l l s unused. However two re- s t r i c t i o n s have t o be introduced. Human education

i s

not only and perhaps not even mainly a c a p i t a l investment t o be ex-

p l o i t e d i n production, but

-

economically speaking

-

^con-

sumption, enrichment o f p e r s o n a l i t y , enjoyment t o be

employed indeed, but not s o l e l y i n working l i f e . Under so- c i a l i s m education i s not only an i n d i v i d u a l but a s o c i a l aim and

i t

must not be c u r t a i l e d because of imperfections of a technology unable t o f u l l y u t i l i z e

i t .

The a r i s i n g contra- d i c t i o n has t o be solved t h e o t h e r way round by developing technologies t o s u i t human nature and progress.

Now this does not apply t o t e c h n i c a l equipment and cannot serve a s a j u s t i f i c a t i o n f o r unused capacity of con- t r o l s . But another consideration of q u i t e p r a c t i c a l impor- tance a r i s e s . When replacing old equipment i t i s economic good sense t o keep i n mind not only t h e requirements of a current production mix, but a l s o f u t u r e requirements t h a t may a r i s e during t h e l i f e t i m e of t h e new equipment t o be i n s t a l - led. But w i t h i n this framework the i n i t i a l a s s e r t i o n w i l l hardly be questioned.

Yet I would not connect t h e requirements t o be met by c o n t r o l s with t h e innovative p r o p e r t i e s of t h e product o r t h e s i z e of production batches a s the working paper does. On t h e one hand

i t

seems hardly j u s t i f i e d quasi i m p l i c i t l y t o connect batch s i z e and age of products. There a r e q u i t e

t r a d i t i o n a l products t h a t come i n small and smallest batches whereas some products with a very high innovation r a t e w i l l

very quickly grow i n t o mass production s c a l e and must do so j u s t because of t h e i r high r a t e of obsolescence. moreover t h e r e may be many reasons t o apply f l e x i b l e automation i n t h e production of t r a d i t i o n a l products. Robots f i n d q u i t e ample a p p l i c a t i o n i n automobile production, I n Japan the automobile i n d u s t r y alone had a share of nearly 30 percent of a l l robots employed i n 1980 (Yonemoto 19821, and Ford produced motorcars i n mass production e a r l y i n this century.

Therefore a d i f f e r e n t approach appears t o be indicated.

Following our t r a i n of thought the l o g i c a l conclusion l e a d s t o an a n a l y s i s of t h e process i n each i n d i v i d u a l c a s e , t h e capacity of t h e c o n t r o l system depending on t h e following properties: t h e number of process parameters t o be control- l e d , t h e measure o f t h e i r d e t e r m i n i s t i c o r s t o c h a s t i c cha- r a c t e r , t h e i r measurability, t h e degree t o which they a r e t h e o r e t i c a l l y known and can p r a c t i c a l l y be influenced and controlled.

I n Fig. 1 successive s t r u c t u r e s of automation a r e mo- d e l l e d i n view of i n f o m a t i o n flows between operator, con- t r o l l e d process and control. The m a t e r i a l and e n e r g e t i c (production) process

consumes

a number of inputs xi (pro- duction factors) and effecta a certain output y ( pro- duct). It i s influenced by a random vector

z

of environmenJ tal factors. Thia system performing s o m e ^j kind of phyd-

C a l process i s controlled by an information-processing system

t h a t may include an automatic control system and a human operator. The performance i s supposed t o meet c e r t a i n

g o a l s , formulated i n i n s t r u c t i o n s ( G ) given t o t h e operator o r control system by some e x t e r n a l a u t h o r i t y . The informa- tion-processing system r e c e i v e s informations (M) from t h e physical process t h a t may be measured values o r observa- t i o n s . The physical process i s regulated by informations

i t

receives from t h e control a s regulating v a r i a b l e s (R) and/or from t h e o p e r a t o r i n t e r f e r i n g with a c t i o n s ( A ) . F i n a l l y t h e automatic c o n t r o l w i l l a s a r u l e transmit s i g n a l s (S) t o t h e o p e r a t o r t o inform h i m about performance c r i t e r i a of t h e physical system. These can vary from simple warning s i g n a l s i n case of d e v i a t i o n s exceeding permissible t o l e r a n c e s t o already computed r e s u l t s of processed measured values, dia- gnosing causes o r recommending actions. The dashed l i n e s

s h a l l i n d i c a t e information flows occurring at i r r e g u l a r in- t e r v a l s i n case of need o r f o r sampling inspections.

physical Xi

Programme

Fig. 1. _Stages of automation

Fig, 1

represents f i v e d i s t i n c t i v e stages of control, Stage

$

show8 the model of a mechaaised process i n which the operator regulates the physical system without the

a i d

of

any

technical control system, Stage

1

may be regarded a s a first step t o automation with very i n t e r e s t i n g c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s we

shall

presently regard more closely,

It

represents a com- puter aided control by the operator, a typical instance being computer aided diagnosis i n medicine, The following stage8

2,

3, and 4 model, i n t h a t order, open loop c o n t m l systems, feed back and adaptive control syetema,

The reader

w i l l

hardly need the aid of verbal explana- t i o n s t o understand the meaning of the graphrJ, But a s previoua- l y meationed, a c l o s e r look a t stage

1 may

be worthwhile, I n this case f l e x i b i l i t y of control i s secured by the operator himself, a s decisions and control actions rest with

him,

But he does not base

his

decisions on

his

individual knowledge,

s k i l l ,

and experience alone, he can r e l y on the memory of the computer, a

kind

of socialised memory comprehending the ex- perience of a much l a r g e r number of preceding proceeses, The computer i s fed with process parameters of a a t a t i s t i c a l l y representative number of cases and correlates these with the frequency of good o r bad r e s u l t s , Such a procedure has the following advantages: a )

It

enables the

andl

a i s

of

black-box

systems by the use

o f statistical

methods,

b

3 the computer recommends promising s t r a t e g i e s under given circumstances t o the operator, c ) the decisions taken by the operator are made

more r e l i a b l e , d) the f i n d

choice of strategy rests with the operator which i s very Important i n the case of unusual con- d i t i o n s not accounted f o r by the averaging of past experien- ces, Evidently such a computer aided operative control i s best f i t t e d f o r processes subject t o parameters of com- plex character not completely

known

o r controllable, such a s c e r t a i n chemical

and

metallnrgic processes, flood prediction, a,o,, or, a s already mentioned, medical

diagnostics,

(Mezynaki , Seif e r t 1981

)

But there i s another point t o be made: The r e s p o n s i b i l i t y and decision space i s not taken away from the human opera- t o r , whose s k i l l s and f'unctions are not downgraded, although t r a i n i n g can be speeded up considerably.

Economic efficiency and technological progress do not allow the unquestionable merits of such a man-computer- machine system t o stand i n the way of more advanced stages of automation, Yet

i t

i s c l e a r t h a t new problems a r i s e we must be aware o f ,

Computer I n t e g r a t e d Manufacturing: Systems and Division. of Sabour

I n t h e same measure a s automatic c o n t r o l systems c a r r y out d e c i s i o n s and do i t more e f f i c i e n t l y t h a n persons, t h e human being t e n d s t o become dispensable o r even a d i s t u r b i n g f a c t o r i n production. What a r e we going t o do with him?

Temporarily perhaps t r a d e union agreements o r o t h e r c o n s i d e r a t i o n s may put a brake on i n t r o d u c i n g such tech- nology i n o r d e r t o save . j o b s o r s k i l l s , but this w i l l not durably solve t h e problem. Rada (1981) put

i t

l i k e this:

"We have, t h e n , two s i l m t a n e o u s and c o n t r a d i c t o r y ten- dencies. On t h e one hand, f e a r of unemployment could slow down t h e d i f f u s i o n of t h e technology; on t h e o t h e r , a f a i l u r e t o adopt t h e technology could c r e a t e unemployment." (P. 7 2 )

Apparent1 i n competitive market economies a s i t u a t i o n a r i s e s

i n

whic

g

doing and l e a v i n g undone cause t h e i d e n t i c a l r e s u l t : redundancy. Now this does not apply t o s o c i a l i s t economies. It i s sometimes argued, this w a s due t o lower p r o d u c t i v i t y , but this cannot convince, s i n c e low producti- v i t y , as Rada argues and experience confirms, i s no cure a g a i n s t unemployment under c a p i t a l i s t c o n d i t i o n s ^.. So t h e cause must be sought f o r r a t h e r i n economic and s o c i a l s t r u c t u r e s t h a n i n t h e l a b o u r saving e f f e c t s of technolo- g i e s .

It

i s t h e business of t e c h n o l o g i c a l progress t o save l a b o u r , and this aim i s i n v a r i a n t t o s o c i a l order, A simple c a l c u l a t i o n w i l l show, t h a t , o t h e r t h i n g s being equal, un- employment w i l l be caused i f t h e growth of p r o d u c t i v i t y exceeds t h e growth of production. As-long as goods a r e s c a r c e i n r e l a t i o n t o wants, t h e e f f i c i e n c y of a n economic o r d e r should be judged by i t s a b i l i t y t o r a i s e production a s f a s t as p r o d u c t i v i t y w i l l allow.

Assuming t h e worker does not l o s e his occupation, how w i l l a f u l l y automated system a f f e c t his f u n c t i o n s , while l i t t l e o r nothing i s l e f t f o r h i m t o do except perhaps some

supervising from time t o time. I n t h e f i r s t place a t t e n t i o n has t o be drawn t o t h e f a c t t h a t a man-computer-machine sy-

stem does not n e c e s s a r i l y achieve optimal performance, i f a l l t a s k s b e t t e r done by t h e computer a r e l e f t

t o

t h e compu- t e r t o do, A system's performance depends on t h e performance of a l l i t s subsystems, and t h e g a i n on one s i d e w i l l

not

n e c e s s a r i l y compensate l o s s e s on t h e o t h e r . Optimizing t h e

system i n a one-sided manner i n t h e d i r e c t i o n of technolo- g i c a l p o s s i b i l i t i e s without regard t o t h e hwnan f a c t o r must

not

render t h e b e s t r e s u l t s . (Ramussen 1980) T h i s encharges d e s i g n e r s w i t h a new q u a l i t y of r e s p o n s i b i l i t y t o t h i n k not o n l y i n t e r n s of technology but beyond them up t o s o c i a l

consequences.

We must a l s o i n this connection r e f u t e a l l o p i n i o n s claiming a c e r t a i n technology t o l e a d i n e v i t a b l y t o a d e t e r -

mined division of labour, On the basis of case studies a trade union investigation i n the FRG concludes t h a t there i s no c l e a r answer, "Yesn o r nNon, t o the question,

i f

adop- t i o n of robots

w i l l

favour the i n t e r e s t s of employees,

It

i s reasoned,

that

apart from labour-saving e f f e c t s robot technology

has

no a t r l c t l y defined positive o r negative ef- f e c t s on jobs, i t

a l l

depends on how technology i s applied,

(Kasiake e t

al,

1981)

However,

what i s

going t o happen t o our operator

i f

production cannot grow a s f a s t a s productivitg? Two condi- t i o n s could oause mch a situation, The gmwth of production

c a n

be impeded

by

l i m i t a t i o n s of a market unable t o absorb the products, i.e, demand f a l l i n g short of supply; o r hypo- t h e t i c a l l y production could exceed not only demand, but human wants, The f i r a t case i s a very r e a l problem facing capita- l i s t market economie~ with the very r e a l t h r e a t of growing mass unemployment, Sometimes the hope i s expressed,

this

might only be due t o a

transition

period of adaption t o new techno- logies, These

would

eventually develop new products opening new markets

and

creating employment, Such an argument f o r g e t s

that

a market can only be established

i f

supply

i s

matched

by

demand, Surely a new product

may

create a new demand f o r this specific commodity, but unless buying power

w i l l

grow

in pm-

portion, demand

w i l l

only

shift

from one commodity t o another,

There

i s

no need t o s t r e s s t h a t a s i t u a t i o n i n which some

are

condemned t o idleness while others must work

hard

f o r t h e i r l i v i n g i s intolerable, Yet here again i t i s argued t h a t

this

s t a t e of a f f a i r s

i s

only due t o maladjustment of society t o modern technologies, sticking t o outdated patterns instead of admitting

that

e s t r i b u t i o n of incomes should

no

longer be t i e d up with participation i n s o c i a l labour, Actually such an admission would not mean anything but a social acceptance of unemployment, The d i v i s i o n between labour and enfomed i d l e -

ness could be altered by shortening working hours

and

dividing leiaure time more humanely, Even

this

w i l l require

adjustments

of modes of l i f e , learning t o use l e i s u r e t o advantage, Modern technologies including automation invading consumption w i l l inevitably confront society with such tasks,

The vision of a

future

society of abundance

in exaess of

wants

may

seem far-fetched

in

a world where three quarters of i t s population can only secure

surrrival, i f

a t

a l l ,

a t a bare

minimum, It

cannot be denied however, there seems t o be l o g i c i n the conclusion that automation w i l l eventually dispense of human labour, Schaff,

among

others, a t l e a s t , thinks

so,

sta- t i n g t h a t work w i l l then be replaced by other human a c t i v i t i e s ,

B U C ~

a61 s o c i a l

services,

sciences, arts, games, e t c , According

t o

his

vision

"how

laboransn

w i l l

be replaced

by

nhomo stu-

diosusw, remaining

^n~~

ludens" a s well,- (Friedrichs, Schaff

1982)

To me a s o c i e t y o f playboys

-

with whatever e a r n e s t endeavours t o k i l l t h e i r I'spareW time

-

^seems highly un- l i k e l y and moreover undesirable. O f course,

i t

a l l depends on what we want l a b o u r , work and l e i s u r e t o mean. I n t h e

same measure a s work can t a k e on humane p r o p e r t i e s t h e boundaries between working time and l e i s u r e time w i l l re- cede, Undeniably automation w i l l shift occupation from d i - r e c t production t o phases preceding production such as r e - s e a r c h and development, e t c . a s well a s t o phases following

i t

such as s e r v i c e s e c t o r s , a l s o t o education, c u l t u r e , e t c . But no m a t t e r how, m a n w i l l not cease t o a c t upon and

f a s h i o n his n a t u r a l and s o c i a l environment according t o his g o a l s , and i f we want mankind t o survive, a l l technologies w i l l have t o s e r v e t h i s end,

REFERENCES

Ebel, He 1982. Technologischer F o r t s c h r i t t und Arbeits- m i t t e l . Wirtschaftswissenschaft 1: 17-34.

F r i e d r i c h s , G., and Schaff, A . , eds. 1982. Auf Gedeih und Verderb

-

Mikroelektronik und G e s e l l s c h a f t

.

Wien: Europa Verlag.

Haustein, Ha-D., and Naier, H. 1982. F l e x i b l e Automati- s i e r u n g

-

KernprozeD d e r revolutioniiren Veranderun- gen d e r P r o d u k t i v k r a f t e i n den a c h t z i g e r und neun- z i g e r Jahren. 7.lrtschaftswissenschaft

5:

669-687.

Kasiske, R., Manske, F a , and 'iiiobbe-Ohlenburg, W. 1981.

V S I X i t t e i l u n g e n 2: 73-90.

larx, X.

Ed. 1962. Das K a p i t a l . E r s t e r Band. Berlin:

Dietz Verlag.

Rada, J. 1980. The impact of micro-electronics. A t e n t a t i v e a p p r a i s a l of information technology.

Geneva: I n t e r n a t i o n a l Labour O f f i c e .

Rasmussen, J . 1980. The human a s a systems component.

Pages 67-96. Smith, H e T., and Green, T. R. G., eds. Human I n t e r a c t i o n with Computers. London:

Academic Press.

Smith, A. Ed. 1937. An I n q u i r y i n t o Nature and Causes of t h e Wealth o f Nations. New York: Random House.

Yonemoto, K. 1982. R o b o t i z a t i o n i n Japanes I n d u s t r i e s

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Socio-Economic Impacts by I n d u s t r i a l Robots. Japan E x t e r n a l Trade O r g a n i z a t i o n JETRO.