Economic Insights Canadians’ Views on Automation and Net Job Creation in 1989: Were They Right?

Economic Insights Canadians’ Views on Automation and Net Job Creation in 1989: Were They Right?

Introduction

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, advances in artificial intelligence and robotics raised concerns that automation might lead to relatively high unemployment rates in the coming years (Brynjolfsson and McAfee 2014; Acemoglu and Restrepo 2019). However, concerns that technological progress might have adverse effects on employment growth are not new.

In 1989, Statistics Canada’s General Social Survey asked 9,338 respondents, “Do you agree or disagree that, on balance, computers and automation will create more jobs than they will eliminate?”Canadians had differing views on this issue. Roughly one-third of respondents agreed (somewhat or strongly) that computers and automation would end up […]

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