Robotics and AI in the developing world

Is Robotics and AI part of the problem or solution for the developing world?

Common sense would indicate that automation in general and Robotics and AI in particular is a big problem for the developing world for two reasons.

Firstly; it would further increase the existing unemployment and secondly; the mass scale adoption of Robotics and AI by the developed countries would result in “reshoring”- bringing manufacturing jobs back to the developed countries form the developing world.

Doomsday for more than half of the World’s population? Not really.

While shortage and cost of labor is a big driver of automation and robotics in the developed world, the rest of the world can look at it as a means to increase productivity, scale up the ladder of comparative advantage by manufacturing sophisticated goods and compete in the Industry 4.0 world.

Early adopters have many distinct advantages but in the realm of technology late adopters can enjoy some major upsides. A case in point is Africa, which has by and large skipped the land line infrastructure and has taken a quantum leap to cellular telecom.

The recent proliferation of Collaborative Robots (Cobots) is a game changer and an enabler for the developing world. Cobots are much more affordable and can be utilized in small scale manufacturing alongside human workers without the need for extensive protective cells and safety mechanisms.

The eco-systems being formed by several Robotics and AI companies have also created a large market for third party payloads and apps that can be sourced and used independently.

A decade ago introducing robotics in manufacturing would typically cost millions of dollars with huge industrial robots, training, implementation and recurring software costs. Today you can integrate a couple of cobots in your manufacturing facility at a cost of $50,000 or less and the cost is going down every day.

License free software like ROS (Robot Operating System) can be sourced for free and run using free operating systems like Linux. These decreasing barriers to entry are a great opportunity for the rest of world to not only catch up but also compete with the developed world. 

China has been one of the leaders in adopting robotics in manufacturing since 2013. China also has the largest population in the world and needs to continuously create employment for its people. Their successful adoption of robotics is proof that robotics can be used as means to create more jobs and does not necessarily contribute to unemployment.

Developing countries like India, Pakistan, Philippines, Vietnam etc. have a large and skilled software development talent pool that has mostly been working in traditional software markets. This existing and new human resource can be used to create a large pool of software developers focusing on Robotics and AI thus opening up another avenue to boost exports.

Industry - Academic Collaboration can ensure that the expertise created can be utilized internally as well to enable local industry to not only survive but also excel in the Industry 4.0 world.

For developing world Robotics and AI is not a threat or a luxury... it is an opportunity of a lifetime.