Jeff Burnstein, president of the Association for Advancing Automation (A3), sat down with Machine Design a couple weeks before the Automate Show in Detroit to share his expert perspective on how the U.S. Industrial sector faces potential challenges from tariffs and the accelerating wave of automation technologies.
READ MORE: Automate 2025 Heads Back to Detroit
Amid uncertain trade policies, Burnstein highlights a promising future for robotics adoption, especially within small and medium-sized enterprises that have yet to embrace automation. He talks about the critical role of automation and tackling labor shortages, improving workplace safety and driving economic revitalization by reshoring manufacturing jobs.
The conversation also explores how advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics could inadvertently accelerate automation, raising important questions about job impacts. He says that automation, coupled with stringent safety standards and groundbreaking updates to robotic regulations, will be essential to fostering competitive, sustainable manufacturing ecosystems.
For more show coverage, be sure to check out Machine Design’s Automate 2025 content hub.
