Throughout history, new technologies have the kinds of work people do. In the nineteenth , machines replaced many farm workers, new jobs appeared in factories and offices. Today, artificial can write text, translate , and analyze images. Economists about its effects. Some large job losses, while others expect AI to tasks within jobs than replace whole .

When people discuss automation, they often ask which jobs will disappear. Many economists argue that this is the wrong question. Most jobs are made up of many different tasks, and technologies usually automate some of these tasks rather than entire jobs.

Consider bank tellers in the United States. When automated teller machines, or ATMs, spread in the 1970s and 1980s, many people expected teller jobs to vanish. Instead, the number of tellers continued to grow for many years. Because ATMs reduced the cost of running a branch, banks opened more branches, and tellers spent less time counting cash and more time helping customers with other services.

This does not mean that automation is always harmless. Some workers do lose their jobs, and new jobs may require different skills or be located in different places. The benefits and costs of new technology are often shared unequally.

For individuals, the lesson is to focus on skills that complement technology, such as judgment, communication, creativity, and the ability to keep learning. For societies, the challenge is to help workers adapt through education and training.