If low labor costs are not the main driver of manufacturing advantage, the world could experience dramatic economic change, and AI could be the key to that, a key Alphabet executive told CNBC.
Wendy Tan White is the CEO of Intrinsic, a portfolio company of Google’s parent company. In an interview with Fort Knox last week, she explained the company’s vision for how artificial intelligence can help robots adapt faster, perform more complex tasks and add value.
Robotics efforts are part of a larger AI story that is driving markets and investment. In a November report, McKinsey estimates that “approximately $2.9 trillion in economic value could be unlocked in the U.S. by 2030 if organizations prepare their workforce and redesign workflows where people, agents, and robots work together rather than on individual tasks.”
Intrinsic was formed five years ago from Google X, the company’s research or “moonshot” division. Its mission is to make industrial robot software smarter and more accessible. Tan White is a founding CEO and has seen the sector’s efforts accelerate amid the latest wave of AI.
Intrinsic wants to build what it calls a “factory of the future” infused with intelligent robotics through a joint venture with Chinese manufacturing giant Foxconn, the companies announced in November.
“We’re not there to incrementally optimize what’s already there,” she said. “Can we produce large quantities of different products on one line or series of cells rather than the same type of product?”
He also said the innovation will allow small businesses and countries with high labor costs to build more equipment.
“One of the things we are looking at is manufacturing reshoring,” she said. “In some locations, manufacturing is very expensive, so the benefit of having a robotics solution that is almost software-as-a-service allows us to build robotic solutions in a variety of locations.”
