Digital automation technologies

Abstract

Abstract There are growing fears that digital automation technologies will start displacing human jobs at a rapid pace. In this chapter, I investigate the impact of automation technologies on employment and job displacement in the past, present, and future, focusing on the manufacturing sector. The key conclusion arising from my analysis is that automation technologies will most likely result in a reorganization of the labour force rather than large-scale job displacement, in line with historical trends. Sectors and countries will be impacted differently, but industrialization as a development strategy is not under threat due to the introduction of digital automation technologies.