A Scientific Urban Detective.

Chapter 457: Unmanned Industrial Revolution

"Yes, that's the 'Director'—one of the twelve directors who oversee the Board of Directors." The security teacher nodded. "Director Sherbin Kenshiels, he's in charge of Academy City's industrial manufacturing. It's safe to say that almost every factory in this city is under his influence."

"Huh?" Gufa Meiwei immediately thought of something, "Doesn't this mean..."

"Yes," the security teacher nodded and pointed out the window. "Of the 100,000 people who participated in the parade today, almost all of them are employees of that guy."

The workers took to the streets because they were facing the crisis of layoffs.

As the de facto "ruler" of these workers, one of the twelve directors, Director Sherbin, not only ignored the protest, but also attended the launch ceremony of the "Unmanned Subway" project with great fanfare...

His attitude is self-evident, and it's no wonder that the security teacher said that he was deliberately laying off employees.

The bigwigs who oversee the industrial manufacturing industry are beginning to focus on "unmanned" technology, so it makes sense that human employees will no longer be needed...

"No wonder the uncles and aunts downstairs have become more aggressive," Gufa Meiwei complained. "They must have seen the news, right?"

Gu Fa Meiwei, who is still a middle school student, does not have any particularly deep feelings about concepts such as "layoffs" and "unemployment", but Lin Wuming is different.

As a time traveler, he was also a worker before coming to this world, so he can empathize with the experiences of the workers downstairs.

As mentioned before, in Academy City, the so-called "workers" are actually professional and technical talents. They are all graduates of vocational colleges and some even have a bachelor's degree or higher.

To be honest, Lin Wuming asked himself, he was probably no more than this in his "previous life". If the situation were transferred to the current one, he would probably be one of the people taking to the streets to protest.

After having this level of empathy, Lin Wuming looked at Director Sherbin who was talking in the news report and felt that this guy was extremely hateful.

"This guy..." Lin Wuming wanted to say something, but immediately shut up and shook his head helplessly.

Sherbin is a director. In Academy City, excluding Chairman Aleister, the twelve directors who oversee the board of directors are the de facto supreme rulers.

Therefore, Director Sherbin can act recklessly.

What's more, his behavior did not even violate any law, so even the guard force could not say anything.

In the end, Lin Wuming could only sigh helplessly, and secretly feel fortunate that he was now a telepath, so he wouldn't have to worry about not finding a job in the future.

The issue at the director level was completely beyond the scope of what the guard force and the discipline committee could handle, so the people present quickly changed the topic and began to discuss the "unmanned subway".

After the teachers' explanation, Lin Wuming finally understood that the "unmanned subway project" launched this time is not just "unmanned driving", but unmanned and intelligent operation throughout the entire process.

The most important part is the maintenance and inspection of subway trains - according to convention, this part often has to be done manually.

Because the condition of each carriage is unlikely to be the same every day, such complex working conditions are beyond the scope of what automated robotic arms in the usual sense can handle.

However, it is said that due to breakthroughs in robotics technology, it is now possible to create robots that are extremely similar to humans; therefore, many jobs that originally required "manual work" can now be completed by robots... This is also the main reason why Director Sherbin has the confidence to carry out large-scale layoffs.

In fact, strictly speaking, Sherbin, as a director, does not own any factory, nor is he the boss of these workers. In theory, he is not qualified to carry out large-scale layoffs.

But he could achieve this goal through policy adjustments, or even go further, forcing Academy City's factories to make choices that suit his wishes...

"And not all blue-collar engineers have been laid off," another security guard added. "Companies developing robots and power armor are the exact opposite. They seem to have recently started recruiting more."

However, there are differences between engineers, and situations like the one he just mentioned are ultimately a minority.

If Director Sherbin's plan is truly implemented, it can be foreseen that Academy City's secondary industry... will hardly be affected at all, and may even be more efficient.

This is the most ironic part. From a purely utilitarian and rational point of view, Sherbin made the decision that best suited his role as a "director."

Academy City's highest governing body, the "Unified Council," is composed of twelve directors. Generally speaking, each director has his or her own "exclusive" area of ​​responsibility.

In other words, it is precisely because one has a significant influence in a certain field that one is qualified to sit on the seat of "director".

The area that Director Sherbin Kenhills is good at is the secondary industry; specifically, the "equipment manufacturing industry".

Utilizing high technology that is thirty years ahead of the outside world, even the most common civilian equipment in Academy City, when exported, becomes a popular commodity with overwhelming advantages and has no worries about sales.

Director Sherbin has made a lot of money over the years just by relying on this.

Then, he invested the money he earned into the development of new technologies and equipment, and continued this cycle, eventually creating his own "manufacturing empire."

After understanding Director Sherbin’s struggle, it is not difficult to find that a more suitable identity for him should be “businessman” rather than “inventor” or “engineer”.

As a businessman, it is instinctive to pursue profit maximization.

Isn't it just to improve production efficiency, reduce costs and increase profits that Director Sherbin has been investing huge amounts of money in the development of new technologies over the years?
Nowadays, robot technology has matured enough to replace ordinary workers. It is not surprising that Director Sherbin made the decision to lay off a large number of employees due to considerations such as cost and efficiency.

Lin Wuming was not so surprised by this development.

After all, Academy City's "robot" technology tree is also very developed. In addition to various manned and unmanned drive armors, pure intelligent robots are also very mature.

For example, "Reicha" who appeared in the original work - although she is a half-robot transformed by humans, all parts except her hypothalamus are completely mechanized. To be honest, there is no difference between her and a pure robot.

And that Rencha can even use all level 5 super powers, and can be said to be the pinnacle of the "robot" field!

Even such an exaggerated guy can be built, let alone an ordinary robot.

(End of this chapter)