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# The Automation Paradox **Argument by James Bessen** This author's views on automation may be different than expected. * **Automation** is no longer limited to blue-collar workers. * Computers are now taking over tasks performed by professional workers, raising fears of widespread unemployment....

# The Automation Paradox **Argument by James Bessen** This author's views on automation may be different than expected. * **Automation** is no longer limited to blue-collar workers. * Computers are now taking over tasks performed by professional workers, raising fears of widespread unemployment. * Some experts, like MIT professors Erik Brynjolfsson and Andrew McAfee, believe automation caused the slow economic recovery from the Great Recession and the "hollowing out of the middle class". * Other perspectives suggest that white-collar automation is causing persistent technological unemployment and necessitates policies to redistribute wealth. * Legal industry example: Legal work is being automated, and computers are better at sorting through documents relevant to lawsuits than humans. Electronic tools and methods can be used by professionals, and software can better review documents, although perhaps human input is still needed in some instances. * Employment numbers: Employment for legal and support jobs has grown robustly while electronic and legal support work has increased, adding to the overall business and data forces in the U.S. **Supporting Evidence** * Image shows a graph about average job growth and number of jobs with computer use. * Text suggests the job market is changing rapidly. **Additional Information** * **Automation** is the automatic operation of equipment, a process, or a system. * **Blue-collar** describes workers whose jobs are performed in work clothes and often involve manual labor. * **Great Recession:** a period of economic decline from December 2007 to June 2009. * **White-collar** refers to workers whose work does not involve manual labor and who are often expected to dress in a formal manner. **Note:** This is a summary of the image content. The image contains some handwritten notes, which are not included in the summary.