Pundits and experts seem to agree that the robots are definitely taking our jobs.
Pictured: Baxter of Rethink Robotics.
Image: Flickr/Steve Jurvetson
Yes, Robots Are Coming for Our Jobs—Now What?
M.I.T. economist Erik Brynjolfsson explains how technology has affected economic growth and productivity, and how human workers can adapt
By Seth Fletcher
Fifteen years ago Deep Blue beat Garry Kasparov in a game of chess, marking the beginning of what Massachusetts Institute of Technology economist Erik Brynjolfsson calls the new machine age—an era driven by exponential growth in computing power. Lately, though, people have been feeling uneasy about the machine age. Pundits and experts seem to agree that the robots are definitely taking our jobs. At last week’s TED conference, Brynjolfsson argued that the new machine age is great for economic growth, but we still have to find a way to coexist with the machines. We asked him to expand on a few points.
[An edited transcript of the interview follows.]
Read more: Yes, Robots Are Coming for Our Jobs—Now What?: Scientific American.
