What of automation?

Automation is part and parcel of the industrial age, but over the course of history the economy has been able to easily outdo those losses by creating new jobs in new industries and services. Industrial labor replaced artisans and in the last half century, service jobs have replaced manufacturing jobs. More and more countries have moved into the post-industrial economy and automation has followed along.

Globalization also contributes to the loss of manufacturing jobs in high wage regions as the work shifts to less developed areas. It also leads to innovation and efficiency as businesses compete in a global market. Many advocates of automation point to the fact that the economy continues to innovate new jobs which more than make up for job losses.  This trend may or may not continue, but the combination of automation and outsourcing have hit many regions hard.

In the US, manufacturing jobs have taken a huge hit and have stabilized for the moment. The place where we will see increasing job losses is in services. Self-driving vehicles translate to the loss of driving jobs. This emerging phase of universal automation will affect virtually all of the economy, even high-end jobs.  As chat bots automate customer support, AI algorithms replace accountants, computer programmers and so on.




Potentially, automation could be great for boon humanity, but not if we do not challenge the existing economic structure. Productivity gains, as this chart shows, do not seem to be benefiting most people. We need to question why this is happening.



The issue of automation ties in to an economy moving to an "entrepreneurial" model, where permanent and secure employment is replaced by contract work. Taken together, these two trends are creating a great deal of insecurity in people's lives and contributing to disaffection across society. The process of automation cannot proceed indefinitely.  Perhaps, as the social costs mount we will come to term with the need to create a more compassionate economy.