By: Shirin Ghaffary
October 22, 2019
In the past few years, some have wildly speculated about how automation will eliminate wide swathes of the US job market, leaving masses of unemployed, frustrated workers. It’s an issue that’s raised enough concern that 2020 Democratic presidential candidates spent a good amount of time arguing about it in the last debate.
But while it’s unclear how many jobs automation will eventually replace and when it might happen, a new study looks at something more measurable: how new technologies are changing workers’ day-to-day jobs right now.
According to a new report by researchers at the University of Illinois that focused on warehouse work automation and was shared exclusively with Recode, emerging technologies aren’t actually going to replace the over 1 million warehouse workers in the US anytime soon. But over the next 10 years, the technology may make their lives harder.