Interview by Jonathan Kersting
What happens when artificial intelligence moves beyond the screen and into the factory? In this episode of TechVibe, host Jonathan Kersting from the Pittsburgh Technology Council sits down with Livia Rice, Senior Director of Communications at the ARM Institute, to explore "Physical AI" — AI-enabled robotics that are reshaping how things get made.
Headquartered in Pittsburgh, the ARM Institute is a national organization dedicated to strengthening U.S. manufacturing through robotics innovation and workforce development. Livia breaks down how Physical AI differs from generative AI, why it's transforming factory floors across the country, and what it means for the future of work.
Topics include:
• What Physical AI actually is (and why it's not ChatGPT)
• How AI-powered robots handle the "dull, dirty, and dangerous" tasks
• Why Pittsburgh remains at the center of America's manufacturing resurgence
• How workers are transitioning from manual roles to robotics technician careers
• The skills matcher at RoboticsCareer.org that's connecting people to manufacturing jobs
• Real-world examples from Pittsburgh companies like Journey Robotics
If you care about Pittsburgh's technology ecosystem, the future of manufacturing, or how AI and robotics are creating — not eliminating — jobs, hit PLAY!
The Pittsburgh Technology Council produces TechVibe to explore the region's technology and innovation ecosystem.
Transcript:
ARM
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[00:00:00] Physical AI really refers to AI-enabled robotics these are robots that can interact with their physical environment around them, typically in factory settings. Mm-hmm. A really great example of this could be a robot that's doing an inspection task, and it can pull data from sensors and cameras and detect a defect on a part that a human would otherwise not be able to see, or really difficult for them to see
This is TechVibe, and I'm Jonathan Kersting with the Pittsburgh Technology Council, and this is your front row seat to all things around Pittsburgh's technology, innovation, and dare I say, manufacturing ecosystem. And today, I've got a great guest with us to talk about this thing called physical AI. We've had thousands of conversations around AI, I think, over the past week, but nothing around physical AI, and that's what Livia Rice, who is the senior director of communications at the ARM Institute, is here to talk to me about today.
And Livia, it's great to see you again. It's been a while. When you came into the studio, I'm like, "Livia, I haven't seen you in ages," so it's good to see you here in the flesh. Absolutely. So we can talk about all things AI. Physical [00:01:00] AI. So I'm just excited to learn more, especially with what ARM is doing around helping manufacturers, not just in Pittsburgh, but really across the country.
And I think there's been this really cool resurgence of manufacturing that we're seeing, just the importance of that our country makes stuff. Southwestern Pennsylvania makes stuff. It's important stuff, and the intersection of technology is what's really driving manufacturing, and that's where the physical AI comes in.
So really, tell us about ARM real fast. Yeah, sure. So the ARM Institute is the Advanced Robotics for Manufacturing Institute. We're headquartered here in Pittsburgh, but we're a national organization- that's dedicated to strengthening US manufacturing, both through technology innovations and through workforce development. Yeah. Two of the key things.
But at the end of the day, this is for people working Absolutely ... and make, and to have technology help that person be the better person on the job. And I think that's where some of this physical AI stuff comes into. So what is the definition of physical AI? Does it wear a headband?
It's the AI that's here in the room with us. Yeah. You can see it. You can see it. Yeah, okay. Yeah, so [00:02:00] physical AI is very different from what we talk about with generative AI. So a lot of people are familiar with ChatGPT, which you could use to import text and make a command, like respond to this email for me, generate an image of the Steelers winning a playoff game, things like that.
It says cannot do. . I think I actually crashed chat when I tried to do that. Yeah. Yeah, sorry. Sorry. Side note, but physical AI really refers to AI-enabled robotics. Ah. So these are robots that can interact with their physical environment around them, typically in factory settings.
And a really great example of this could be a robot that's doing an inspection task, and it can pull data from sensors and cameras and detect a defect on a part that a human would otherwise not be able to see- ... or be really difficult for them to see. I like that. See, this is increasing quality.
It's so many different ways just to enhance manufacturing, make it more competitive, and keep it here in the United States- That's the goal ... and all that kind of good stuff. And I just, I love the idea 'cause here at The Tech Council, we know technology is a great way to enhance so many things and- Our passion is [00:03:00] around where technology does that with manufacturing because we're true to our Pittsburgh roots here when it comes to the, when it comes to the manufacturing. And this is just really transforming manufacturing right now. I've been reading a lot around the automation of warehouses and- ... manufacturing facilities, and this seems like that's part of this progression now, is obviously when you have an AI-enabled, robotics and automation that are helping the human beings out.
Yeah, and it's creating an evolution in these roles- Okay. Yeah ... really. So we're seeing a lot of headlines today, sensationalist headlines. And we saw this with robotics too, right? I started at Armature in 2017. It's taking all the jobs. Yes. Five years we're all gonna be automated.
You see all of this. Yeah, exactly. Of course, that never came to fruition with robotics. No. It's not coming to fruition with artificial intelligence either. What AI is doing, it's not taking over the jobs of different people. Okay. It's taking over tasks. So these are typically the dull, dirty, and dangerous tasks.
See, the triple Ds, man. I'm gonna do a whole series on this- Yes ... because I think this is so important. Keep going on that. Exactly. Keep going. And that's exactly the thing, 'cause you see a, a human who's doing something, doing a task in an ergonomically [00:04:00] uncomfortable position. Oh, yeah. Or being exposed to chemicals.
Now, why is a human doing that? You could have automation do that instead, and by doing that, you free the human up to do what humans do better than any machine could even possibly imagine doing, decision-making- I thought you said take a lunch break ... creativity. But you see the humans get to take over these more meaningful roles, critical thinking- Exactly ... higher paying- Yes ... things like that, which is really exciting. So there's a good example of, there's someone who pulls a pallet around a manufacturing facility.
That's hard. Oh, yeah. That's hard on your back. Oh, yeah. I'm 32, and I don't wanna be doing that, let alone others. So but that person knows that role better than anyone. So what you could do by giving them a few more skills is they could transition into a robotics technician and manage a fleet of autonomous mobile robots.
And in that way, the robot's doing the genuine heavy lifting, and the human's freed up to control that robot and control the fleet. That's what it's all about. I've been seeing this with so many companies in Pittsburgh. I think of places like Journey Robotics, where they have- Yes ... a robot that's handling [00:05:00] luggage.
Apparently- ... in the airline industry, folks that are doing that job typically don't do it very long, or they get hurt. And they're in extreme conditions doing it, and in dangerous areas doing it, like underneath- ... jets and things like that. And so yeah, it makes sense that there's a robot that can do that.
Why would you not do that and then have a better job for the human being? So that's- Yeah ... that's what it's all about. That's the heart of it. So a- as we kinda go through this I feel so there's so many skills that are valuable then- ... for the human here when they're looking for jobs within manufacturing.
And I think what's really cool is lately I've been seeing... A lot more spotlight put on the fact that manuf- well, first is manufacturers have been hiring forever. Yes. But there was this weird part of time where people were like, "I don't wanna be in manufacturing because it's dull, dirty, and dangerous."
But that's changing because some of this, this automation's taking care of that, right? Yeah. But we now need people to do these other tasks- ... to help with that or do other things. So what are , the skill sets and the the things that are valuable? for folks that are looking at getting into manufacturing?
It's a great question, and I would say 100% of the time when someone's thinking about getting [00:06:00] into manufacturing, they realize when they go on roboticscareer.org, for example, and use our skills matcher- Yeah ... that they are so much closer to a manufacturing job and being ready for a manufacturing job than they'd expect.
Let's evaluate your readiness for a manufacturing job, Jonathan. I'm thinking about that actually. Yeah. We'll talk afterwards. Yeah, so the really great news is that it's like a blend of skills, right?
So you still need those basic manufacturing skills, robotic programming, troubleshooting, maintenance, but what artificial intelligence and physical AI specifically is adding is a new layer. So there's the data layer. Okay. So you're looking at roles that have a level of AI literacy, data literacy, software skills, and software - integration skills.
Yeah. And the number one thing we heard from our ARM Institute members when we were building our competency frameworks on roboticscareer.org is they don't want a workforce that's just AI. They don't want an AI team. No, they need a well-rounded team- exactly ... but AI's playing a role within that to make it really good.
They want a manufacturing workforce who has AI skills. There you go. Okay. And so that's then built right into these competencies that when you- ... go [00:07:00] onto roboticscareers.org- ... that like as you start going through the site- ... that you can start matching up and really kinda plug into it.
Exactly. Okay, tell me about the site a little bit and how this works. Like walk us- ... through the experience of it maybe. Yeah, so roboticscareer.org is a really unique platform that we built for the good of US manufacturing. And I'm gonna use a Pittsburgh metaphor here. Do it. We consider roboticscareer.org the bridge from discovery and awareness to direct employment in manufacturing.
I like that. Yes. So it's a one-stop shop. So you can go on there and you can say, "Okay, I've been in high school. I've been doing robotics competitions. I'm really interested in that," but that's not really a career plan. You need to understand what are the skills you need in industry, where do you find those skills.
So someone in high school can go on, look at our job previews on our homepage, and envision themselves in these roles. Then when they're, once they're ready to go onto their secondary education, whether that's career and technical training, a community college, or a traditional four-year university- Okay
they can connect directly to training. Oh, nice. So in there, based upon with the skills you would need, you can actually find the training then- Exactly ... that you [00:08:00] would need. That's really cool. Yes, and then- There's no messing around then. 100%, and then once they- It's on you to connect with that training at that point.
Exactly. I love it. We're handholding you through it. Yeah. And then, once you graduate from that training program, you come back to roboticscareer.org, and we'll personally match you to a job that aligns directly with your career interests. And there's gotta be a ton of jobs available. There just has to be.
We upload automatically 15 to 20,000 jobs a day that aligns- Wait ... with one or more competency. Oh my goodness. Back, that's a- around the country. That's around the country. So- Do you... Any, any thoughts about how many are like in southwestern Pennsylvania? Oh, quite a few. There's gotta be- Southwestern Pennsylvania has a ton of opportunity for those looking at robotics and- Manufacturing.
That's interesting. That's a lot of jobs. It's a lot of opportunity. Yeah. That's so good to know, 'cause I just feel I don't know, in this day and age, like everyone's trying to- Find the thing they love to do, and- Yes. ... You get a lot of folks that are like thinking about "Do I go to school for- four, six, eight years?" Then what do you do then? The idea that you can find some exact trainings that you [00:09:00] need- Yes ... to get into a pretty cool career when you're talking about robotics and automation and AI- ... hello? What? It is so much opportunity. And then you come back to your site, and every day there's 15,000 jobs being uploaded.
Yeah. And you go on- Oh my goodness ... you personally match to it, so you're not just taking a guess. It's like a LinkedIn- Yeah ... for robotics and AI careers in manufacturing. Oh my goodness. It's highly curated- Yeah ... and it's really doing that hand-holding piece and getting people into jobs that are stable, high-tech, engaging, and lead to economic prosperity.
That's what I'm talking about. That is so cool. Yeah. This is why I'm m- I get excited why places like ARM exist, that you're able to put these types of resources together- ... because you're getting the information right from the folks, right from the manufacturers themselves- Exactly ... as you were telling me before, and then being able to then add in what the AI competencies would be, 'cause they want part AI, not all AI.
And this is very interesting to me. Yeah. Wow, okay. You guys are passing the test. We sure are. I love it. So I, but so there's like, we, I think there's what, 1,300 training programs all together- ... that are [00:10:00] out there, which I that just blows my mind when I think about 1,300 training programs.
Yeah, so there's just so much going on, and that has to be getting bigger- Yeah ... pretty much every week because there's always something new being added. When we look at the technologies- ... as they evolve and things that come up, it's just creating more and more opportunity and more reasons to train.
And it's fascinating, 'cause when we talk about the 1,300 training programs, we're talking about those that teach the AI skills. But if you look overall at the robotics training programs as well- Yeah ... we have more than 18,000. Oh my God, so when you add- Yes ... in the robotics, it's 18,000. It is. My goodness.
It's an incredible amount of opportunity, but you think about it and you think, how do you identify the training program that's right for you, one that's gonna get you job ready? That's the big thing, especially- ... if there's that much out there, eh, yeah, you need to have someone hold your hand and guide you.
Absolutely. And that's what's pretty cool. So as a user then, as you're setting up your account then, it's learning about you. So you're answering certain questions about what your interests are and all that- ... type of thing a- as a way for it to gauge where are the right avenues and then what the right trainings and so forth would be.[00:11:00]
Yeah. Wow. And we're helping people even more because we're helping them connect to industry training that's been vetted by industry experts. Okay. So we have a program called the Endorsement Program- Okay ... where the ARM Institute works as a neutral third party subjective expert- Yeah ... with industry subject matter experts, and we evaluate these programs based off of things like the effectiveness of the training, how well they're teaching industry desired skills- Yeah
what equipment they have, things of that nature. So once a training program goes through that, if they pass all that criteria, they receive the ARM Institute endorsement badge, which goes on their profile. Nice. And these s- show up first in search results because we want students to find the best of the best, the creme de la creme.
To know that, yeah, the, th- these guys have been vetted. Exactly. And I have to say- Hey, I think Pittsburgh is a shining star in this area. We- Tell me more about that. Yes. You said shining star in Pittsburgh. I gotta know more about that. We have to learn more. So why- Yeah ... why are we shining so much? So we have endorsed a number of training programs in the Pittsburgh region- Great
which is really exciting. And things that are more flexible training, like Southwestern Pennsylvania BotsIQ- ... to things like [00:12:00] the Community College of Allegheny County right down the street from where we're talking. Yes, absolutely. Man, no, that's one of the best resources out there. Fantastic.
People forget that they got some seriously great programs there. And they are fully aligned to industry needs. Yep. And that's what we're seeing, and we've endorsed a number across the nation. But I would say, Pittsburgh and the state of Ohio are shining stars in those areas.
So we've been really leading the way. We really are. I like that. Yeah, that, that's what it's all about. What kind of feedback are you getting from the manufacturers? Are they coming back and basically saying "My God," "we're now finding the candidates that meet the needs and-" yeah Okay So what manufacturers are telling us is, we keep hearing this, that a manufacturer will will buy a robot, and then it sits in a corner- Yeah
under a tarp, sadly, 'cause they don't have anyone to work with It's under a tarp. Yeah. Can we get this robot a friend? Yeah. Help us untarp the robot, please. It needs a couple humans to make it work, right? Yeah Which is really important, and they've been struggling to find that talent.
Yeah And the Arm Institute takes a holistic approach to this- Okay ... which is interesting. Yeah So our automation services and our robotics manufacturing hub facility enable us [00:13:00] to work with the manufacturer, and we're their objective partner in helping them understand where robotics, automation, AI can, and equally importantly, cannot help them- Interesting
which is really important. That's really... Yeah 'Cause sometimes it's just as important to know what it can't help you- That's exactly right ... from what it can. Absolutely. And then on the side of the workforce, which is just as important or possibly more important because the robot needs a worker we do this in a number of ways on roboticsecure.org.
We have the jobs that we're listing completely for free for manufacturers. So if you're a manufacturer and you're listening to this right now, log onto the site and see if your AI and robotics jobs are listed on there because I'll bet they are, and you're getting free traffic to that because we built this as a resource for you.
I love that. Okay. But a manufacturer can also be more active in finding their talent. They can search our free national talent database and connect to individuals who have these AI and robotics skills and are actively looking for jobs. Think of it as like a LinkedIn for robotics and AI. 100%. No, that's...
makes total sense. You can search by skills. You can click to contact candidates right within our platform. [00:14:00] You can download resumes, and this is completely free for everyone across the nation for manufacturers. Very cool. That's awesome, man. Yeah. Very cool. That's... Yeah, I just love hearing that.
What is your vision we go out five years from now? Where would you ultimately like to see the industry when it comes to how it's embracing physical AI, and really how it's just helping our workforce, actually connect with these jobs?
Because- Yeah ... in my many years, I can say decades now, at the Tech Council- ... as I've hung out with so many manufacturers, all I've been hearing is like, "We have a whole generation of workers that are going to be retiring- ... and we need to replace them. No one's interested." And the ones that are interested can't pass a drug test."
Yes. Yeah. So it's oh my... i'm gonna quit right now and work your place- ... because this sounds amazing. I wanna run a CNC machine. I just gotta learn how. I think it's interesting stuff, I really do, but I just keep thinking This is so core to what our region is, what our country is, and how important manufacturing is, that we need the people.
They gotta have the skills. I wanna see them all have them in five years, and them- ... being like, "Yeah my first choice is, [00:15:00] I'm not going to college. I'm gonna go take a couple of these courses and start working, just down the road at a manufacturer. Yeah. So if I... I'm closing my eyes and I'm looking- Yeah
five years into the future. Five years in the future. Yes. Let's see, where are we? Where are we? So- do, do. I see a manufacturing floor that has a blend of workers of all ages. Yeah. I see younger folks coming into the industry because they see it as being really high-tech- Yeah ... and really cool. I see them working alongside workers who are probably approaching retirement, and they're transferring their skills to those younger workers.
And I see robots taking on all these nitty-gritty mundane tasks while we're getting to work with this really cool technology. But there is a huge risk to this vision for the future. Yeah, what is the risk, man? So the risk is that there are millions of jobs that are still at risk of going unfilled, millions, which is very concerning.
And Lisa Mastrantonio, ARM Institute's chief workforce officer, has a really interesting and kind of terrifying statistic about this. I like terrifying stats, man. Come on. Let's get scary. Terrify me right now. Okay what do we got? So there are approximately 1,100 community college in the United States today.
Yeah. If each community [00:16:00] college graduates 100 students a year, and every single one of them- Yeah ... every one- Yeah, okay ... goes into manufacturing, they're not going to work at Macy's, they're not gonna go work- Yeah ... as a nurse- ... they're going into manufacturing, it will still take over 20 years to make a dent in this.
Ooh, that's crazy. When you start crunching hard numbers like that, yeah. Yeah, it's rough. And robotics and AI can play a role in augmenting those gaps, of course. Yes. You can take a little bit of that and it takes a little bit of strain off of folks, but we really need to start engaging the next generation of workers, and helping those in other industries understand how they can get into the manufacturing industry.
Interesting. This is a fascinating conversation. But without the work that you're doing, we're not gonna make any numbers. And I feel like this is a big first step- towards connecting people with these, with the, have the interest, with the skills, getting the manufacturers, the workers they need- so they can actually run the automations that they have. Workers are gonna have a lot more fun. They're in a much safer work environment, not moving heavy pallets- ... or lifting things. It's like you're actually working and running the the automation that makes that happen. And with the ARM Institute doing that, and [00:17:00] of course one more time, if everyone goes to roboticscareer.org, they can check it all out.
And if you're thinking about, like I could go there. I'm gonna set my own profile up. I'm curious what I'd be matched up with. It is interesting. It'd be very interesting. Yeah. Marketing does have some overlap. Oh my goodness. It sounds great. But Livia, thank you so much for stopping by and hanging out with me today.
This has been a great conversation. I'm glad you guys are just right down the road from us- ... doing the good work that you guys are doing here in Pittsburgh for the entire country. We're extremely proud to be located in Pittsburgh, and we're thankful for the Pittsburgh Technology Council for supporting us and supporting all of the work that we're doing.
Oh, thank you. So thank you. No, it's a whole ecosystem that we're in together here. We just wanna see the whole region rise, which helps the whole country rise. It sure does. Simple as that. Oh my goodness, once again, thanks for hanging out with me. And if you want more content like this, of course, keep tuning in, keep on clicking.
We're here as often as we possibly can be. Once again, it's been Jonathan Kersting with the Pittsburgh Technology Council. I'm gonna see you on the next one, everybody.