korrents

What Austin Vernon thinks about robotics

@austin-vernon · 42 positions · 0 changes of mind

Engineer and investor who writes quantitative posts about how physical industries actually work — chemical plants, geothermal drilling, shipyards, thermal storage and the economics of low-volume manufacturing — at austinvernon.site.

Austin Vernon did not write this page.

We collected these quotes from things they published elsewhere, and every quote links to where it was said. They have no account here and have not endorsed this site. Quotes are word for word; the short line under each one is our own restatement, not their wording. Their own site. Is this you? Claim it or ask us to remove it. Or tell us what is wrong here.

4 dated positions, 2022 to 2026, in their own words. Our reading of what Austin Vernon has said — not written or endorsed by them.

4 positions so far — this page is not yet offered to search engines.

  1. Our readingAn industrial robot does not replace labour, it shifts labour from hourly workers to scarce skilled ones.

    Their wordsThe key is that robot arms are not labor-replacing, but labor-shifting.

    ↗Speed Can Reindustrialize Americaaustinvernon.site 4th of 15 in this piece

    Interesting

  3. Our readingChina installs more robots than America because it has a surplus of underemployed engineers, not because robots are self-evidently the right answer.

    Their wordsIt has a surplus of STEM graduates that are often underemployed, while "Hukou" residency restrictions complicate hiring hourly labor in coastal factories.

    ↗Speed Can Reindustrialize Americaaustinvernon.site 5th of 15 in this piece

    ChinaAmericahiring

    Interesting

  5. Our readingIndustrial robots are not the fix for American manufacturing, and betting on automation misreads why production sits elsewhere.

    Their wordsThe robot arm base case saves some hourly labor at the expense of adding more skilled labor, and can easily be negative if it needs reprogramming more than a few times per year.

    ↗Speed Can Reindustrialize Americaaustinvernon.site 8th of 15 in this piece

    America

    Interesting
  6. 4 years earlier

  7. by

    Our readingOil demand will fall mainly because petrol cars get driven less, not because they are replaced by electric ones.

    Their wordsFalling consumer oil demand looks much more like driving the Camry 6000 miles per year instead of 12,000 miles rather than a shiny new electric car in every garage or robot taxis swarming everywhere.

    ↗The Electric Car's Shrinking Role in Reducing Oil Demandaustinvernon.site 2nd of 2 in this piece

    electric vehicles

    Interesting