机器换人

choi

A video clip from New York Times.

(1) It appeared in cn.nytimes.com on Apr 26, 2015, with the following text:

"Business Day
廉价的机器人，更少的工人
中国面临人力成本上涨和工人短缺问题。但一项名为 ‘机器换人’ 的政府项目正在改变广东省的劳动力模式"

(2) In print at New York Times, Business section at page B3 Apr 27, 2015, whose full text is: "Video: Changing Face of China's Working Force[:] Faced with a worsening shortage of workers, China is rushing to deploy robots for use in thousands of factories. Robotics makers, like Kuka Robotics, above, have opened assembly plants in China to keep up with the demand. The impact that this will have on the economy is still being debated. The first episode in a video series on robotics around the world is at nytimes.com/robotica."

My comment:
(a) The video clip is almost six minutes long. However, the content is so-so, featuring huge robots doing work that will be familiar in an auto assembly. The KUKA robots are not assembling smartphones--a job China excels. Until such a robot is invented, China is safe. (On the other hand, IF such a robot is invented, it will not be installed in China. who needs China any more?  That is why the (Guangdong) county government official featured in the video clip is foolish, talking about 机器换人.

(b) KUKA History. KUKA, undated
www.kuka-ag.de/en/company/history/
(“In Augsburg in 1898, Johann Josef Keller and Jakob Knappich found the Augsburg Acetylene Factory for the production of cost-effective domestic and municipal lighting. * * * The name KUKA is derived from the initial letters of the company name ‘Keller und Knappich Augsburg’ ”)
(i) Augsburg
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augsburg
(After Neuss and Trier, Augsburg is Germany's third oldest city [founded in 15 BC], being founded by the Romans as Augusta Vindelicorum, named after the Roman emperor Augustus)
(ii) German English dictionary
und (conjunctive; cognate: “and” in English): “and”
en.wiktionary.org/wiki/und