The Impact of Technology on Labor Markets

Decades ago, renowned economists John Maynard Keynes and Wassily Leontief foretold a time when artificial intelligence would produce “technological unemployment.” In their view, labor would become less important and workers would be replaced by machines. Science fiction writers often capitalize on plots where robots take over tasks traditionally performed by humans. In such a scenario, what would be the implications on today’s labor market? According to “Robots and jobs: evidence from US labor markets” (National Bureau of Economic Research working paper no. 23285, March 2017) by Daron Acemoglu and Pascual Restrepo, the use of industrial robots may reduce employment and wages in the U.S. economy.