While I mostly agree with your comment, I would like to point out that a company may have a lifespan much greater than that of a skilled worksman (which may or may not have transferred his "specific" knowledge to any co-worker and/or apprentice). A company, simply because of the stream of new people that will have to be trained, need to have that knowledge passed down at some point, and having it laid down in writing or any non perishable medium is the safest way to do so.

I'd like to add a little context around the quote [0], because I do think it makes another issue very apparent:

> Building a dam requires knowledge and skill developed through years of experience. Obayashi's automated system is expected to be a game-changer in dam construction, as well as in other applications.

> "By transferring expert techniques to machines, we're able to analyze what was once implicit knowledge," said Akira Naito, head of Obayashi's dam technology unit.

> Every process for constructing the 334-meter-wide dam will involve some form of automation. That includes the initial work of establishing the foundation, and pouring concrete to form the body.

Implicit knowledge here refers to dam builders' workmanship and experience. It is an empirically constructed knowledge which is "stored" in the worksman's mind as instincts, concepts, know-how... While these may "be analyzed" and re-used for automation purposes, I have very strong doubts whether such implicit knowledge may even be truly understood and translated (be it in code or any other media) if there is such a precise goal. Specifically because the knowledge is implicit and applies situationally, one may never be able to grasp it all without some kind of very complex knowledge transfer set-up that could cover a broad range of situations, allowing all of the patterns to emerge and be identified.

Enough knowledge may be gathered that a company could successfully apply it to dam building by machines. But as automation replaces dam builders, chances are that the portion of the extracted knowledge which is not necessary to the company will join the expertise which did not transfer from the workmans' minds to the company to lay forever in the land of lost knowledge (...until it is found again through experience).

The rest will most likely be preserved "forever" through more or less obscure patents and "hard", explicit knowledge in the company's hands.

[0] https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Engineering-Construction/Da...