HARI SREENIVASAN: But first: Tech giants are increasingly under scrutiny from politicians, regulators and experts on the left and the right. Some are concerned about their growing power, even calling them monopolies. And the tension keeps building, whether over privacy, politics or the displacement of workers by automation. We, too, at the NewsHour have worked and collaborated with Facebook, Google and many other new media businesses. Economics correspondent Paul Solman has a conversation for his weekly series, Making Sense.

MILES O'BRIEN: We're going to get a better picture tomorrow of how strong job creation is when the monthly employment report comes out. But whatever that snapshot looks like, there are concerns about the rise of robotics and automation, and what that means for the future of the work force. Our economics correspondent, Paul Solman, has been exploring that subject. PAUL SOLMAN: In Silicon Valley, author Vivek Wadhwa says he already lives in the future. OK, so, your car can open the garage door and greet you in the driveway?

HARI SREENIVASAN: But first: As more and more shopping is done online, what will become of the 16 million Americans who work in the retail industry? Our economics correspondent, Paul Solman, takes a look. It's part of our series Making Sense, which airs Thursdays on the NewsHour. JENNIFER RICHTER, Former Regional Director, Macy's: This is a great, great, great basic black top. PAUL SOLMAN: This summer, Jennifer Richter opened her own clothing boutique online.

Computer superintelligence is a long, long way from the stuff of sci-fi movies, but several high-profile leaders and thinkers have been worrying quite publicly about what they see as the risks to come. Our economics correspondent, Paul Solman, explores that. ACTOR: I want to talk to you about the greatest scientific event in the history of man. ACTOR: Are you building an A.I.? ACTRESS: Do you think I might be switched off? ACTRESS: Why is it up to anyone?

Economics correspondent Paul Solman and Swedish philosopher Nick Bostrom discuss existential threats such as nuclear winter and how the biggest threat to humanity may be what we don't yet know. Editor's note: Economics correspondent Paul Solman recently traveled to Oxford University's Future of Humanity Institute. And yes, there is an institute that studies only that -- the future of the human species. In PBS NewsHour's Thursday Making Sen$e report, Paul speaks with the institute's founding director Nick Bostrom, a Swedish philosopher known for his work on artificial intelligence and existential threats. You can watch Bostrom's TED talk on "superintelligence" -- what happens when computers become smarter than humans -- here.