Robots Are Us: Some Economics of Human Replacement
Peer Reviewed
Date issued
April 2017
Subject
Economic Analysis;
Labor Supply;
Technological Change
JEL code
E01 - Measurement and Data on National Income and Product Accounts and Wealth • Environmental Accounts;
E24 - Employment • Unemployment • Wages • Intergenerational Income Distribution • Aggregate Human Capital • Aggregate Labor Productivity;
E22 - Investment • Capital • Intangible Capital • Capacity;
E25 - Aggregate Factor Income Distribution;
H40 - Publicly Provided Goods: General;
J01 - Labor Economics: General;
J24 - Human Capital • Skills • Occupational Choice • Labor Productivity;
J30 - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs: General;
L17 - Open Source Products and Markets;
O30 - Innovation • Research and Development • Technological Change • Intellectual Property Rights: General
Category
Working Papers
Will smart machines replace humans like the internal combustion engine replaced horses? If so, can putting people out of work, or at least out of good work, also put the economy out of business? Our model says yes. Under the right conditions, more supply produces, over time, less demand as the smart machines undermine their customer base. Highly tailored skill- and generation-specific redistribution policiescan keep smart machines from immiserating our posterity. But blunt policies, such as mandating open-source technology, can make matters worse.
Generative AI enabled