The future of American working-class jobs

Technological advancements such as electricity, indoor plumbing and automobiles have dramatically changed our world for the better. Thanks to these advancements we enjoy a far better standard of living today than our forefathers experienced in the past. However technological advancements have some drawbacks. Technological innovations improve certain aspect of our lives, but they also have the potential to dramatically disrupt a connected industry and thus affect the livelihood of thousands of individuals.

The people affected most by technological displacement are the working class, as they make up the majority of the population and their skills often involve manual labor. For example, the invention of the automobile destroyed the horse drawn buggy industry causing the loss of tens of thousands of working class jobs, but it also created hundreds of thousands of new working class jobs through automobile manufacturing industry. Another example, the invention of the light bulb made the oil lantern industry obsolete as people could light their homes with light bulbs instead of oil lanterns. In the process of the oil lantern industries’ destruction thousands of working class people lost their jobs, but in the long run millions of working class individuals acquired new jobs through the building and operation of power plants, the construction of related energy infrastructure, and the need for fossil fuels.

In the last half century, no area of technology has attracted investment dollars and captured the attention of the American populace like computers. In the early 1970s computers were stationary devices capable of only a few routine tasks. However, today, computers can fit in the palm of our hands and perform a myriad of functions once thought impossible. Smart phones can serve as personal secretaries through scheduling services, they are capable of serving as chauffer’s though navigational guidance, and they can provide personal banking services through mobile banking applications.

In addition to their personal utility computers have also become a standard tool for American businesses. In the early 1970s computers were expensive, bulky, slow, and constantly in need of repairs. It was difficult to imagine a future where these machines would replace human labor in offices and factories. However, today computers are a standard tool in U.S. offices and factories. Computers can maintain security systems of entire buildings independently of operators, they can operate an entire assembly line without the assistance of human workers, and they can even operate vehicles without the help of human drivers. A company that looks to lower costs and increase productivity almost always turns to computers for the solution. For example, a robotic arm unit can perform the same functions as an assembly line worker at a cost of only $30,000 per unit. In addition, the robotic arm does not need health insurance, it is never late to work, it does not need a vacation, and it will never ask for a raise.

No longer did machines require six-figure investments; they could be purchased for $30,000, or even leased at an hourly rate. As a result, a new generation of robots was winding up on the floors of small- and medium-size companies that had previously depended only on the workers who lived just beyond their doors. Companies now could pick between two versions of the American worker — humans and robots. 

I used to think technology is not evolving fast enough, but now I worry its evolving too fast. How can a working-class individual compete with the advantages artificial intelligence and robotics provide American businesses? Furthermore, if these new technological advancements continue to replace traditional manufacturing jobs held by the working class, what jobs will be available to the American working class in the future?