Economist Conference, 9 March 2018, Athens
Ladies
and gentlemen,
Thank
you for inviting me to this event. My introductory comment in this discussion
aims to explain why in the Greek case having robots deployed in the Greek
industries can be only positive for the current and the future labour market.
God created mankind in his own image; and male and
female he created them. And the mankind, after many-many centuries, created the
industrial revolutions, the 1st, the 2nd, the 3rd, the 4th, which is well
underway.
The
industrial and revolutionary Man created robots. As part of the 4th industrial
revolution there is rapidly growing adoption of robots, mainly of industrial
robots, in the last few years. This is reshaping the international division of labour
and the world of work.
Robots
are the epitome of new technology, of continued technological advancements in
automation systems and artificial intelligence. They drive into
a fundamental transition.
What stance should we adopt in front of the resulting,
and largely unforeseen, challenges?
