The last 2 decades have sen the inexorable rise of the robot – especially in motor manufacture. We have all sen the robotic arms lifting and fitting panels, spray painting, and so on. Some workers have presumable been displaced – but the economic gains have been substantial, surely.
Well ,thisc rise of †he robot has been matched with the lowest productivity growth in recorded times.
Coincidence or causal relationship?
Well, there is some evidence that those displaced workers have had to take low paid, possibly part-time work – not the high skill jobs that were predicted. And, worse – some could find no alternative work at all – the jobs are in the wrong place!
So, the rise of the robot might be good only for those who make and sell robots. Or perhaps it simply takes time for society to adapt to such a massive change.