Week 3 | Industrialization, Robotics, Kinetic/Robotic Art | Blog assignment

Mass production is one of the main influences of robotics, but computers enhanced this process even more. This all started after Gutenberg brought the printing press to the west (Vesna, 2022, Lecture 1, 0:57), originally creating what we know as “assembly line production.” As technology and science advanced, mass production took over and was able to succeed due to the printing press. Mechanization was able to replace workers in the assembly line. Walker Benjamin comments how this switch from human labor to mechanical reproduction kills authenticity when it comes to art (Benjamin, 1936).

Gutenberg and the creation of the printing press.
(Lehmann-Haupt, 2020).

Ford started this mechanical mass production with the creation of automobiles. To mass produce, Ford hired an abundance of workers to fulfill the assembly line of production, which only caused problems when the workers began to be treated “as if they were a part of the machine” (Vesna, 2022, Lecture 2, 1:23). The idea of the robot was based on how workers were treated as machines, as well as how mass production was the start of humans being replaced by machines. What led to the dismissal of people and acceptance of machines and the creation of robots was computers. 



Working at Ford's factory, where men would remain in the
same spot and work on the same task their entire shift.
(Working at Ford's Factory, 1913).
Although the printing press was able to increase production rates dramatically, it had negative effects on the workers. For the consumer and producers of the products, mass production was beneficial. For the workers who used to have the role of the machines, their jobs were now being taken from them and leaving them in the dust. These industrialization changes have allowed society to advance rapidly, increasing the production of goods at extreme rates. Although this was a plus, industrialization affected the average worker extremely negatively with the poor conditions they were put in, and then replaced by. Low wage workers were forced out of their jobs and the increase in industrialization only led to poor living conditions, like pollution.
One of the many negative effects of rapid industrialization. 
(Kiger, 2021).

Works Cited

Benjamin, W. (1936). The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction. 

Kiger, P. (2021). 7 Negative Effects of the Industrial Revolution. History.com. 

    https://www.history.com/news/industrial-revolution-negative-effects

Lehmann-Haupt, H. (2020). Johannes Gutenberg. Britannica. 

    https://www.britannica.com/biography/Johannes-Gutenberg

Vesna, V. (2022). Industrialization, Robotics, Kinetic/Robotic Art. 

Working at Ford’s Factory. (1913). PBS American Experience. 

    https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/-gallery-henryford/




Comments

  1. Jessica BerejikianApril 17, 2022 at 3:13 PM

    Hi Quinn!

    I love your perspective on industrialization and the way you closely examine both the pros and the cons of mass production. I find it interesting how the use of robots resulted from one of the major pit-falls of industrialization (the increasing mistreatment of employees)— it’s fascinating to think about the middle ground between the time of the the first assembly lines and the time of robots, and how this evolution slowly took place.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hannah PalmerApril 17, 2022 at 10:49 PM

    I like what you had to say, Quinn! I especially liked your last paragraph of writing about how the effects of the printing press and industrialization were sought out to be amazing, but it was such a negative affect on actual workers. I think that it is funny that the concept of the robot was to show how workers were treated like machines, but in today's world, machines are actually taking over jobs and replacing actual human workers.

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousMay 25, 2023 at 6:58 PM

    Wassup Quinn, you opened up my perspective about industrialization and the way that you made me see what your talking about from your perspective. Then you started talking about the fascinating robots that are all man made and put a perspective on that that you don't necessarily hear a-lot. Its funny cause when I think of robots and the way your talking about it I think of robot movies like chappie or even robocop.

    ReplyDelete

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