Robotics + Art

          Mechanization, on the one hand, may appear as one of the most crucial developments for social progress. For example, as Professor Victoria Vesna indicates in her lecture video "Robotics Part I," inventions like the robot were possible after the mechanization of labor (Robotics Part I). However, on the less apparent side, the introduction of machinery has, in fact, swept away traditional divisions of labor, thereby, making human labor abstract. If we look back to the middle ages, human labor was concrete, meaning that there were various concrete labors, such as tailoring or weaving. All were qualitatively different and determined by the level of skill one had acquired. Further, there were only specific trades, in which you could be a cooper or joiner, for instance. However, with industrial economies, human labor became abstract, meaning all workers fall under the umbrella term "laborer." 

https://ravisehgal.com/2017/03/12/9-tailoring-
terms-every-man-know/

http://www.hirepointusa.com/general-labor-jobs/

          While machines work faster and do more than any human being can possibly do, the required physical strength to do the job is also decreased because now the machine does all the heavy lifting, which means that women and children can also join the workforce. Further, while machines increase intensity and lengthen the surplus value labor time for the capitalist, they have a negative effect on the worker, where the necessary labor time gets reduced and workers are ultimately devalued. Thus, wages fall for workers, while surplus value for the capitalist continues to increase.

https://www.livemint.com/Opinion/KGsnF2v811

nwhyovDmOmHN/Get-the-most-out-of-IoT.html

          Further, the invention of assembly lines, which today we commonly associate with Henry Ford, traces its roots back to the printing press, where the idea of "separating actions into pieces" and making workers responsible for parts of the production process really began (Robotics Part II). However, while the idea of assembly lines made things like books and cars assessible to more people, this invention ultimately produced a huge problem for workers: they were treated as if they were part of the machine (Robotics MachikoKusahara I). This factory environment was critiqued by Charlie Chapman in his film Modern Times, which emphasized that with mechanization, workers are "being superimposed and replaced by machines" (Robotics Part II). Therefore, while Henry Ford came up with the idea of inventing a car, his Model T, that was affordable to the majority of Americans, one should not forget that he was thinking along the lines of a typical capitalist, where if he produced more affordable cars, he could sell it to more people, and in the end, make more profit. 

https://www.kanopy.com/product/modern-times

https://newswatchtv.com/2019/02/22/

commercial-robots-revolutionizing-workplace/

          In recent years, we have seen many advances in technology, with the most notable seen in medicine and artificial intelligence. For example, we cannot deny that people are living longer today than previous centuries and this is thanks to technological advances in the field of medicine. However, the creation of robots and how they are built to match human capabilities has become a heated topic over the years, which has left many to become increasingly worried about the future of robotics in our society. For example, many are concerned that robots will eventually replace humans at work, as "millions of today's jobs are expected to be affected by artificial intelligence and automation as part of the 'fourth industrial revolution'" (Humberd and Latham). However, critiques of such technological advancements are not something new and can actually be traced back to the first half of the 20th century, when German-Jewish Marxist philosopher Walter Benjamin wrote an essay of cultural criticism on mechanical reproduction. In his essay The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction, Benjamin argued that mechanical reproduction destroys the idea of uniqueness, authenticity or the aura in the work of art (Benjamin). Therefore, the idea of the original is broken down once a piece of art is reprinted. Hence, Benjamin argued that this devalues a piece of artwork because now instead of there being just one copy in the world, there are hundreds of thousands. Furthermore, Douglas Davis in "The Work of Art in the Age of Digital Reproduction (An Evolving Thesis: 1991-1995)," adds on to this discussion by arguing that with digital reproduction, "there is no longer a clear conceptual distinction between original and reproduction in virtually any medium" (Davis 381). 

https://trialectics.net/philosophy/20th-century/benjamin/

work-of-art-in-the-age-of-mechanical-reproduction/

References

Vesna, Victoria. "Robotics Part I." YouTube, 15 Apr. 2012, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRw9_v6w0ew. 

Vesna, Victoria. "Robotics Part II." YouTube, 15 Apr. 2012, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oAZ8bo9T_Pk. 

Vesna, Victoria. "Robotics Part III." YouTube, 16 Apr. 2012, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wkP7oSZVkbg. 

Vesna, Victoria. "Robotics MachikoKusahara I." YouTube, 14 Apr. 2012, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQZ_sy-mdEU. 

Davis, Douglas. "The Work of Art in the Age of Digital Reproduction (An Evolving Thesis:1991-1995)." Leonardo, vol. 28, no. 5, 1995, pp. 381-386. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/1576221. 

Benjamin, Walter. The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction. Prism Key Press, 1936. Print. 

Humberd, Beth, and Scott F. Latham. "Commentary: Are You Prepared to be Replaced by Robots? Some at Walmart Soon Have to be." CNA, 20 Apr. 2019, https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/commentary/automation-threaten-jobs-walmart-replace-workers-with-robots-11450482.