Automation: Will the Fourth Industrial Revolution Lead to the Downfall of Human Labor?

Abstract

When widespread innovation dramatically increases the productivity of the average worker, structural unemployment eventually follows. This thesis explores historical trends which led to widespread structural unemployment and examines the technological capabilities of automation. Peer groups of publicly traded companies within the automotive manufacturing and steel-producing industries are examined to determine if a mathematical relationship can explain the phenomenon. While the regression analyses were inconclusive as a whole, some insight was gained in the process. There are several decisions in policy that have been discussed by economists, political leaders, and philosophers. There may not be one right answer, but a need to continue the ongoing debate and prepare for a possibility of workforce disruption.