Daniel Aiello

Professor Parker

ENGL 1302

6/20/18

Causal Argument Essay Rough Draft

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 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. 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, 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 a 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. 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. 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. Over all 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.