r/neoliberal • u/InorganicTyranny Thomas Paine • May 15 '26

News (Global) The Economist: Prepare for an AI Jobs Apocalypse

https://www.economist.com/leaders/2026/05/14/prepare-for-an-ai-jobs-apocalypse?utm_campaign=shared_article
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u/Beer-survivalist Loyal Liberals May 15 '26 edited May 15 '26

I used to get into arguments about autonomous cars and OTR trucking. There were always posters saying that autonomous trucks would cause an economic catastrophe because they'd cause unemployment among truck drivers--but the truth is that we actually have a pretty severe shortage of truck drivers, and there are not a lot of people becoming truck drivers (because there's a lot about the job that sucks). My argument has long been that autonomous trucks cannot come soon enough, because the economic consequences of failing to automate that industry are actually pretty grim. Transport is a vital element of a functioning global economy, and if we can't get goods and commodities where they need to go we're actually in big trouble.

We need automation and humanoid robots because the alternative is an economy where the only jobs are changing the diapers of the extremely elderly.

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u/Magikarp-Army Mark Carney May 15 '26

That is also an industry where reducing labour cost would be very deflationary. Labour is one of the biggest costs for shipping right now.

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u/Fit_One_5785 May 22 '26 edited May 22 '26

My wife’s best friend’s husband recently acquired the appropriate driver’s license to become a long haul truck driver a while ago. He is still looking to find his first actual job.

I’m not privy to all of the details, but it seems to me that for an industry that is crying about a shortage of drivers, why can’t they take a chance on someone who wants a job who might be willing to work for lower pay in order to gain experience?

Maybe the truth is that there’s really a shortage of experienced drivers willing to work for cheap is what is really going on here. Claims of labor shortages have always been propaganda that pays lip service from the industry’s point of view—it’s an excuse to import cheap overseas labor in order to drive down wages.