But we're talking about the labor market around the widget, not the TCO of the widget.
Automotive is a prime example: the added complexity increases lifetime maintenance costs, but at the same time the labor share of captured value has declined substantially.
I think this is currently the cardinal mistake people make when they that reason about the impact of automation. Labor doesn't get completely automated and replaced. Instead, one of two other things happen:
1. It gets de-skilled and commodified (GPS+Maps+smartphone -> complete deskilling of taxi driving).
2. Or it gets cut out from the profits (software in cars -> dealerships and "certified" mechanics capture more maintenance labor -> central entities get to extract more value. See also app stores.)
Automotive is a prime example: the added complexity increases lifetime maintenance costs, but at the same time the labor share of captured value has declined substantially.
I think this is currently the cardinal mistake people make when they that reason about the impact of automation. Labor doesn't get completely automated and replaced. Instead, one of two other things happen:
1. It gets de-skilled and commodified (GPS+Maps+smartphone -> complete deskilling of taxi driving).
2. Or it gets cut out from the profits (software in cars -> dealerships and "certified" mechanics capture more maintenance labor -> central entities get to extract more value. See also app stores.)