The automation paradox: Robots that create jobs instead of killing them

There is a notion circulating in the technology and manufacturing sectors that the rise of automation and artificial intelligence will lead to widespread job displacement. While that may be true at some organizations, there is also evidence suggesting that automation may help support job growth and employee productivity.One need only look toward companies like John Stewart’s MiddleGround Capital, which has deployed automated technology across factory floors that aims to improve employee livelihood, enable better work, and justify higher wages and expanded capacity. Automation may help support worker productivity by reducing dangerous or tedious tasks, helping address skills gaps and potentially creating new roles.

These are all goals that MiddleGround Capital and like-minded organizations are striving to achieve. Those outside of the manufacturing industry might believe that automation is a hindrance to factory floor workers.Artificial intelligence and automation may help enhance processes while reducing the need for some dangerous or tedious tasks. For instance, John Stewart and MiddleGround Capital work with a portfolio company that manufactures high-performance and racing components for the automotive and powersports industries.

The forging area had long been a production bottleneck, requiring heavy manual labor in a high-temperature environment.According to MiddleGround Capital, its automation team completed the first phase of a robotic forging-press tending installation that helped address a production bottleneck, reduced downtime by approximately 15%, eased ergonomic demands on workers, and generated an estimated $9.07 million in enterprise value creation.As Stewart explains: “Operational efficiency in this market doesn’t really mean job reduction.

It means increasing output… we use this to raise wages for workers and train them in how to run the automation.” This type of shift may be occurring not only at companies such as MiddleGround Capit...