How to Stop Worrying and Love the Robot Apocalypse (Update)

It’s true that robots (and other smart technologies) will kill many jobs. It may also be true that newer collaborative robots (“cobots”) will totally reinvigorate how work gets done. That, at least, is what the economists are telling us. Should we believe them?

• SOURCES:
  • David Autor, professor of economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
  • James Rosenman, C.E.O. of Andrus on Hudson senior care community.
  • Karen Eggleston, economist at Stanford University.
  • Yong Suk Lee, professor of technology, economy, and global affairs at the University of Notre Dame.

• RESOURCES:
  • "Robots and Labor in Nursing Homes," by Yong Suk Lee, Toshiaki Iizuka, and Karen Eggleston (NBER Working Paper, 2024).
  • "Global Robotics Race: Korea, Singapore and Germany in the Lead," by International Federation of Robotics (2024).
  • "Unmet Need for Equipment to Help With Bathing and Toileting Among Older US Adults," by Kenneth Lam, Ying Shi, John Boscardin, and Kenneth E. Covinsky (JAMA Internal Medicine, 2021).
  • "Robots and Labor in the Service Sector: Evidence from Nursing Homes," by Karen Eggleston, Yong Suk Lee, and Toshiaki Iizuka (NBER Working Papers, 2021).
  • The Work of the Future: Building Better Jobs in an Age of Intelligent Machines, by David Autor, David Mindell, Elisabeth Reynolds, and the MIT Task Force on the Work of the Future (2020).
  • "Robots and Jobs: Evidence from US Labor Markets," by Daron Acemoglu and Pascual Restrepo (University of Chicago Press, 2020).
  • "The Slowdown in Productivity Growth and Policies That Can Restore It," by Emily Moss, Ryan Nunn, and Jay Shambaugh (The Hamilton Project, 2020).
  • "The China Shock: Learning from Labor Market Adjustment to Large Changes in Trade," by David H. Autor, David Dorn, and Gordon H. Hanson (NBER Working Papers, 2016).
  • "Deregulation at Heart of Japan's New Robotics Revolution," by Sophie Knight and Kaori Kaneko (Reuters, 2014).

• EXTRAS:
  • "What Do People Do All Day?" by Freakonomics Radio (2024).
  • "Did China Eat America’s Jobs?" by Freakonomics Radio (2017).

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