Technologies of the fourth industrial revolution, in which people, machines and products are intelligently networked with each other, are changing the way people view and relate to the machines they themselves have created. According to some experts, the widespread use of artificial intelligence (AI), intelligent robotics and human enhancement threatens to completely replace humans in work processes. As part of the "Data Society" research training group, Paderborn University researchers have compared the current debate with historical discussions of the second industrial revolution, the triumph of the assembly line and industrial mass production around a hundred years ago. The interdisciplinary project reveals astonishing parallels: Although the new, digital technologies, compared to the older machines, are used in a decentralised manner and seem difficult to grasp, they have similarly threatening effects on people. They generate fear of humans being displaced by technology.
Further information about the lecture by Prof. Dr. Claudia Öhlschläger and Prof. Dr. Martin Schneider can be found under this link: https://wiwi.uni-paderborn.de/en/news/mensch-vs-maschine-in-der-digitalisierten-arbeitswelt-1