We have the first of two podcasts on automation. Now automation, it's got a kind of a scary sound to it, Richard, but it's been going on for some time, hasn't it?我们今天有两期关于自动化的播客，这是第一期。自动化这个词听起来有点吓人，Richard，但它其实已经存在很久了，对吧？

Yes, robots replacing humans. It really started with the first industrial revolution in the 1700s.是的，机器人取代人类。这实际上始于18世纪的第一次工业革命。

OK. Which was when people started using steam to replace basically the muscles of people. OK, can you give an example? We're talking about manufacturing.没错，那时候人们开始用蒸汽动力来取代人的体力。你能举个例子吗？我们说的是制造业方面。

Yes, the inventions of things called the spinning jenny and the flying shuttle. So we're talking about the cloth and the cotton mills, Richard. Exactly, yes.当然，比如“珍妮纺纱机”和“飞梭”等发明。所以我们说的是布料和棉纺工厂，Richard。没错，就是这些。

And following on from that, we come to the second industrial revolution, which was all about using electrical power for mass production. And we often think of in the early 20th century, the production of the Model T Ford motorcar, for instance, the assembly line.接着就是第二次工业革命，它主要是利用电力进行大规模生产。我们常会想到20世纪初的例子，比如福特T型车的生产，也就是装配线。

Now then we come to the third industrial revolution, and that's more modern using electronics and information technology to automate production.之后就是第三次工业革命，更现代一些，利用电子技术和信息技术实现生产自动化。

OK, can you just give an example of that? Well, it's getting machines to do the repetitive jobs like involved in packing and again in manufacturing.你能举个例子吗？就是让机器来完成重复性工作，比如包装，或者制造业中的重复工序。

OK, so again, you could take the car industry, lots of those robots with those hands coming out, putting all the...比如汽车行业，那些带着机械手臂的机器人在操作，把所有的——

The rivets and screws in, yes. And painting the cars as well.铆钉和螺丝装上去，对，还有给汽车喷漆。

All those things. OK, so where are we now then, Richard? Well, we're continuing with that. And actually, we talk about a lot of jobs being lost to these automated processes.所有这些工作都是机器人在做。那么现在我们处于哪个阶段呢，Richard？我们还在延续这种趋势。实际上，我们常常讨论许多工作正在被自动化流程取代。

But they think in the near future and now, 90% of jobs in the garment and footwear industries in Cambodia and Vietnam are at risk of an automated assembly line, so-called so-bots.但他们认为，在不久的将来，甚至现在，柬埔寨和越南的服装和鞋类行业中有90%的工作，都可能被自动化流水线取代，也就是所谓的“缝纫机器人（sew-bots）”。

OK. What on earth is a so-bot? Well, a robot that does the sewing.什么是“缝纫机器人”？就是能够进行缝纫的机器人。

So they're making the shoes. Oh, the robots can make shoes? They can make shoes from start to finish now. And in fact, those jobs were outsourced to Southeast Asia.所以它们能够制作鞋子。哦，机器人能做鞋？它们现在能从头到尾做完整双鞋。而且这些工作过去是外包到东南亚的。

Now they're coming back. Adidas is building a factory right now that will make shoes. And this factory, there's only going to be 160 people working in it.现在这些生产工作又回来了。阿迪达斯正在建造一座鞋类工厂，而这家工厂只需要160名工人。

Wow. I suppose all of this has got a double-edged sword, Richard, because obviously a lot of goods are going to be cheaper, aren't they? But then jobs are at risk. Yes.哇。我想这些事情都是双刃剑，Richard，因为商品肯定会变得更便宜，对吧？但与此同时，工作岗位会面临风险。是的。

The big advantage is automation means cheaper goods because you're not paying for people to make these things. But that means the people are out of work.最大的优势是，自动化意味着商品更便宜，因为你不需要支付人工成本。但这也意味着工人失业。

And you can see that, can't you, already in places like the US? Yes.你已经能在一些地方看到这种情况了，比如美国，对吗？没错。

A good example is what they call the Rust Belt in the Midwest of America. They used to make lots of things in their factories, but now machines are doing it or these jobs are being outsourced to other countries.一个典型例子就是美国中西部的“铁锈地带（Rust Belt）”。那里过去有大量工厂生产各种东西，但现在要么由机器完成，要么这些工作被外包到其他国家。

So it's not from lack of funds that these factories are just laying there and rusting, literally. It's because machines are doing the work. Better and cheaper.所以这些工厂并不是因为缺钱而闲置、生锈。真正原因是机器能把工作做得更好更便宜。

Hmm. So that sounds like worrying times then. It is worrying times. But in the future, it's not just going to be manufacturing jobs that are going to be lost.嗯，所以听起来是令人担忧的时代。确实很令人担忧。但未来不仅仅是制造业的工作会消失。

The service industry is next. OK. So for the next podcast, we'll be looking at the future.接下来受影响的是服务业。好的，我们将在下一期播客中讨论未来的发展。