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What Automation Might Mean For The Shrinking Middle Class

A new report says automation could displace 2.5 million American workers per year, or more than three times the rate between 1970 and 1990, when computers revolutionized the global economy.
Shoppers enter and check out with purchases at the Amazon Go, on Jan. 22, 2018 in Seattle. After more than a year in beta, Amazon opened the cashierless store to the public. (Stephen Brashear/Getty Images)

A new report by Bain & Company says automation could displace 2.5 American million workers per year, or more than three times the rate between 1970 and 1990, when computers revolutionized the global economy. New jobs will replace many if not all of the old jobs lost to automation, but some economists worry those jobs won’t be able to support a middle-class lifestyle.

‘s Eric Westervelt () speaks with  (), co-director of the MIT Initiative on the Digital Economy and co-author of “Machine,

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