A lot of economists and politicians talk about automation taking jobs away. I’m inclined to think automation creates jobs, by creating new markets.<p>There’s also been talk of automation decelerating. I find this counterintuitive.<p>How do we define automation?<p>Is all technology a form of automation?
Augmentation = Relationship of human to some machinic unit. The car production lines are a longer running example, but any job that maybe in the past would be all human or more human labors per machinic-object, but now the ratios change is augmentation(Perhaps this is what most things are definitely going through or at risk of).
Automation = Complete replacement of human unit(s) by an automated process by machinic units.<p>Technology isn't necessarily a form of automation, since human laborers can use it/operate it without meaning the loss of another human unit.<p>As for what's going on, so many people throwing data and inquiries around it's hard for the average person to take time to do meta-analytics and ascertain where the trajectory is versus conjecture of decades-out and hence the two sides (automation-risk real vs automation-risk fake) end up being dogmas.<p>I don't think we've seen automation itself simply generate new markets at a rate to stave off 'risk'. But I don't think we've really seen what the synthesis of automation will bring forward and there's a lot of hype. Industry itself is still trying to build plans and transition into industry 4.0, I think things will be much clearer in the next 15 years. Probably a non-answer but that's what i think.