From the 1920-2014, technology progressed and made many jobs irrelevant, just as improvements in robotics have put a lot of people out of work. So if technology puts people out of work, then our unemployment should have increased since the 20's. Let's take a look at some data from The U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics.
This doesn't seem to be the case. As people lose jobs, new types of jobs are created, just as they were in the past. The job market will continue to evolve as the world changes.
Why? Because you will be able to get such a robot for practically nothing and it will fill all your material needs without you having to pay any one any more money.
That's right. Head for the hills. The world is coming to an end.
An unprecedented wave of prosperity is coming to destroy us.
The only way this could be a problem is if robotic labor becomes super cheap, while at the same time becoming super expensive. The picture usually painted is the overlords will have it and those underfoot won't be able to buy it. Unlike any other technology revolution, ever.
The reality is that even the poorest sap unable to operate a robot will be handed a $500 self-assembling house that grows all its own food, collects all its own energy, and cleans itself. Imagine the untold suffering that awaits us.
Even for someone who personally suspects that the market will always find sufficient use for the displaced labor, it seems a little silly to ignore the possibility that it won't simply on account of it not having happened yet.
Year Rate of Unemployment 1920 5.2 % 1928 4.2 1930 8.7 1932 23.6 1934 21.7 1936 16.9 1938 19.0 1940 14.6 1942 4.7% 1944 1.2 1946 3.9 1948 3.8 1950 5.3 1952 3.0 1954 5.5 1956 4.1 1958 6.8% 1960 5.5 1962 5.5 1964 5.2 1966 3.8 1968 3.6 1970 4.9 1972 5.6 1974 5.6% 1976 7.7 19781 6.1 1980 7.1 1982 9.7 1984 7.5 19861 7.0 1987 6.2 1988 5.5 1989 5.3 19901 5.6% 1991 6.8 1992 7.5 1993 6.9 19941 6.1 1995 5.6 1996 5.4 19971 4.9 19981 4.5 19991 4.2 20001 4.0 2001 4.7 2002 5.8 20031 6.0% 20041 5.5 20051 5.1 2006 4.6 2007 4.6 2008 5.8 2009 9.3 2010 9.6 2011 8.9 2012 8.1
This doesn't seem to be the case. As people lose jobs, new types of jobs are created, just as they were in the past. The job market will continue to evolve as the world changes.