Despite advances in automation technology, the promise of productive and flexible automation, with minimal involvement of human workers, is far from reality, for two main reasons. First, adoption of automation technology has been limited. Second, when firms do automate, what they gain in productivity they tend to lose in process flexibility, resulting in what the […]
View PublicationNew technologies that exhibit large (>10x) jumps in performance limits compared to incumbent technologies are radical technological innovations. This paper considers three cases that exhibit such jumps: the evolution of engines from the early 18th to the late 20th century (with the transition from coal-based steam engines to hydrocarbon-based internal combustion engines); the evolution of […]
View PublicationWhy the United States lags behind other industrialized countries in sharing the benefits of innovation with workers and how we can remedy the problem.
View PublicationWith a focus on innovation, productivity and competitiveness, the MIT Industrial Performance Center brings together researchers in engineering, science, management and the social sciences at MIT and beyond to carry out applied research in the following areas.
The MIT Work of the Future initiative explores the relationship between technology, work and society. It envisions an economy where dramatic advances in automation and computation go hand in hand with improved opportunities and economic security for workers.
Manufacturing research at the IPC examines technology adoption, workforce development, and productivity at U.S. factories. With teams of engineers and social scientists, the IPC has a long legacy of industry studies research in manufacturing dating back to the Made in America study published in 1989.
How can science make faster progress toward addressing big, broadly desirable goals like abundant affordable clean energy and curing dementia? We advance research and intellectual exchange around the emerging field of Progress Studies, focused on new models for harnessing scientific inquiry to improve humanity.