Worldwide Web Watch

March 23, 2017

Calm down.  It’s not Armageddon according to the optimists, writes Sarah Kessler, when discussing the future of human employment.  We’ve been here before, she says, and runs through classic examples of situations that provoked needless fears of an apocalyptic machine conquest.  In fact, historically, those worrisome machines created more jobs albeit different kinds of jobs.  Realistically, the impacts of machine-assisted labor may be positive: higher profits & wages, lower prices, more consumption leading to … even more jobs.

Jobs that can be automated often can’t be completely automated  — so it’s a question of complementing rather than competing with automation.  With machines frequently doing the less interesting work, humans gain the freedom to be more creative, innovative and productive.

Nonetheless, the introduction of cutting-edge machinery inevitably causes some disruption.  Innovation just does that.  Many workers will have to learn new skills, let go of habits and resistance.  Certainly, methods to ease transitions may have to be established and proposals are being made in that regard by various experts.  Count on some roadblocks but human beings are very resilient and eventually adjust to new ways.  Labor-related disruptions are recurrent and this time is no different, claim the optimists, despite the far-reaching impact of innovation on just about every industry sector.