Abstract:
Historically, depressions have inflamed automation anxiety. Wars, in contrast, often end them. In the US, the machinery debates of the 1920s and 30s began with labour secretary James J. Davis’s famous 1927 speech. Yet panic only set in during the Depression, and only faded with US entry into the second world war. As Covid-19 is often described as a warlike event, and one that has also tipped the world into recession, will it end or exacerbate our automation concerns?
Citation:
Frey, C. B. (2020, April 21), 'Covid-19 will only increase automation anxiety', Financial Times, https://www.ft.com/content/817228a2-82e1-11ea-b6e9-a94cffd1d9bf