Robots are in our future. Will policymakers keep denying that? R Street

You'd be forgiven for getting worried about how many smart folks seem to be warning lately that robots are taking all our jobs. Bill Gates calls for the government to tax machines to offset the costs of job losses. Stephen Hawking warns that artificial intelligence (AI) could end the human species. Elon Musk says we need to merge with AI, or become obsolete. While economists and technologists generally agree that AI can lead to job losses in some industries for at least the short run, there's significant disagreement about the longer-term net effects of automation on jobs.