Will it be different this time?

A new and peculiar state of affairs has arisen, such as the history of the world has never before afforded, because never, until now, did human invention devise such expedients for dispensing with the labour of the poor”

A response to the Industrial Revolution - early 1800s

March of the machine makes idle hands”

New York Times - 1928

The major domestic challenge is to “maintain full employment at a time when automation…is replacing men”

President John F. Kennedy - 1960s

In the past, despite the fears of mass unemployment, employment has grown faster in professions that made the most use of computers. Relieved of routine tasks, the worker can focus on adding value and expanding the definition of their role. We have always grown by finding the work that the machines can’t do.

Desktop publishing software spelled doom for traditional graphic designers, with their carefully honed skills. Except that as graphic design became affordable, it became a standard process in most businesses. There are more graphic designers today than ever before.