Replaceable but Employed: Automation and the Meaning of Work

mooreds 62 points 58 comments September 07, 2026
www.nber.org · View on Hacker News

Discussion Highlights (3 comments)

pgt

Does anybody have a link where I don't need to download a PDF and zoom and it's still messed up for reading? I just want HTML, mannn.

jdw64

>Automation can, therefore, reduce the value of work before it eliminates jobs. As automation takes over, the value of labor collapses, and workers' market bargaining power under capitalism is the first to crumble. Ultimately, this drives up the value of real assets. I agree that tech companies can profit and gain the upper hand in negotiations simply by demonstrating a machine before licensing it, as this alone diminishes the value of workers. I am seriously worried these days.

pydry

This paper created some neat theoretical mathematical models but I can't see anything that indicates that they have anything to do with reality. I thought they'd come up with a neat mechanism that looked at actual wages in real companies where automation was introduced, but no. It's all spherical cows.

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