US, China trade war: Why robots may be a game-changer
If you want to bring manufacturing jobs back to America, you do it with robots, according to Vivek Wadhwa, a Harvard Law School distinguished fellow.
“We can build an entire economy with automatic manufacturing. We are talking about a trillion dollar opportunity over here and it’s possible now” he said on Monday during an interview with FOX Business’ Stuart Varney.
Not taking advantage is a missed opportunity in his opinion. “We are taking stuff from all over the world and moving to China so that their cheap labor-- or what was cheap labor can assemble goods and then ship it back all over the world,” he said.
What’s more, argued Wadhwa, is that Trump’s trade war with China “may actually play to America’s advantage because suddenly these companies are no longer announcing new manufacturing in China.”
“The motivation is there now—now these companies need the push to bring manufacturing back,” he said, adding that while “it will cost money in the long term, it will save tremendously and it will give America the independence to innovate on its own.”
We are entering into a new era, Wadhwa added, where robots can do a lot more, for less.
“Robots can do what human beings can do now. The cost of robots is less than a dollar an hour. So imagine what’s possible,” he said while noting these automated machines still can’t replace humans.
“You still need to build the robot, you still need to service the robot, you need to build the factories [and] you need to transport the goods,” he said.