Shivam Gupta

“No, Robots Aren’t Killing the American Dream”

Everybody has problems, be it in their personal, social, or professional life. Some problems, however, involve all aspects of life and we are asked to choose a side. So is the issue with our fellow Americans who are facing difficulties in finding jobs. Some blame the economy and immigration while others believe that it is because of the advancement in technology. Artificial Intelligence has taken control over the entire world and has turned people’s attention to the future of their jobs. There are those who fear that robots are going to replace them, but, on the other hand, there are those who believe that the advancement of robots is going help them make life easier. However, according to some people, robots are not to be blamed for the competition in the job market. I agree with the New York Times’ article “No, Robots Aren’t Killing the American Dream”, real issue is not robots nor the advancing technology, rather, the real problems are the politicians and the policies they have implemented.

Although people believe that robots are taking over the job market, data shows that it isn’t the case. People like Christine Lagarde, former president Barack Obama believe that the robots are the reason behind the economic pain of globalization and that the economic dislocation would come over from automation (Editorial Board 1). If this was the case, you would see surge in the Capital Investment and Labor productivity as technology increases productivity and people invest more in technology. Instead, the data from the article shows that after the initial increase in the 1996-2002, both the investment and the productivity have gone down substantially. The Usage of data in the article shows the actual happenings in the world compared to what people are saying.

Automation not only substitutes human labor, former complements the latter. It is the policies that the current government fails to implement and take action which prevents workers to share the earned wealth from technology-led-growth. The case wasn’t the same for the 20^th century where due to automation in the farms the result was mass migration of Americans from rural to urban areas in search of jobs and there came the knowledge of using automation in high schools to prepare students for the future. Young people were taught how to use the appropriate automation. Another example was when the productivity due to automation led to vast profits in the industries, the democrats at that time made policies which support workers and helped raise their pay. Ever since the World War II happened the education has taken a drift from the current scenario and the people in power are not doing anything regarding the issue. The result of this situation is that the rich are getting richer and the labor class getting poorer. Politicians still target the immigrants and robots for the misery that they have brought upon the middle-class families due to their own failures. To disengage the doings, the policies made need to be revived, and new ones enacted.

I agree with the New York Times’ article “No, Robots Aren’t Killing the American Dream”, real issue is not robots nor the advancing technology, rather, the real problems are the politicians and the policies they have implemented. To decrease the effects of the problem, people need to be educated in using the technology. Even though the robots have taken worker’s place, the reason behind is the extra spending that the employers have to do on workers compared to the negligible maintenance they have to spend on machines. You need to understand the real problem here, the people in-charge, and take action towards them in order to not be sidelined by technology.

Works Cited

“No, Robots Aren’t Killing the American Dream.” The New York Times 20 Feb. 2017. Web. 1 Mar. 2017. <https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/20/opinion/no-robots-arent-killing-the-american-dream.html>