Maybe We Shouldn't be Terrified of the Automated Future

Late last year I wrote a post on the future of automation and the economy, and why the theory--known as creative destruction--that tells us in the long run everything will be okay might be wrong. Creative destruction is the concept that as technology makes some jobs and even whole industries obsolete, new ones take their place. While that theory has largely proven true, Joseph Schumpeter, the creator of the theory, believed eventually creative destruction would reach an end point and new jobs wouldn't be created to replace the ones innovation destroyed. Andrew McAfee, a professor at MIT, is one modern academic who believes this wave of technology is different, and there may not be enough jobs to replace the ones eliminated by robots and artificial intelligence. That said, if there is any profession known for its stunning ability to be consistently wrong, it's economics.