During his keynote address at Computex in Taipei today, Foxconn chairman Young Liu warned that generative AI and robotics might soon make low-wage human labor unnecessary on the assembly line. This could have huge implications that go way beyond iPhone manufacturing.
A costly shift in the assembly line
As reported by The Register, Liu told the audience that after plugging AI tools into Foxconn’s workflows, software now performs roughly 80 percent of the work required to configure equipment for a fresh production run. And it does so faster than humans ever could.
He added that while the blend of “bots and brains” cannot replace every human (which they tried), the combo speeds troubleshooting on the factory floor. But that productivity gain might come at a huge cost for what he referred to as “low-GDP” countries:
Generative AI and robotics will fill the void. (…) That is the opportunity I see when a country becomes more prosperous. The low-GDP work will be done by GenAI and robotics. (…) I think that is the real challenge for all developed countries. (…) I urge leaders of developed countries to watch this very carefully.
Liu also announced that Foxconn has been fine-tuning its own version of Meta’s Llama 3 and 4 models. This manufacturing-centric model, dubbed “FoxBrain,” will autonomously perform specific shop-floor tasks. He said Foxconn intends to open-source the model but didn’t provide a timeline.
What this might mean for the iPhone
Despite recent events, Foxconn still assembles the vast majority of iPhones in China. While Apple has been expanding production to regions like India, Vietnam, and Brazil, China’s combination of advanced manufacturing expertise and, let’s say… cost-effective labor, remains a significant draw.
Integrating AI and robotics into manufacturing processes could potentially reduce the reliance on low-cost labor, making it more feasible for Apple to consider manufacturing in higher-cost regions. That, of course, would require China to just sit and watch it all play out, which would be highly unlikely.
But even if that were the case, replicating the efficiency and scale of China’s manufacturing ecosystem elsewhere would remain a complex endeavor, although Foxconn’s automation push could, over time, narrow that gap.
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