Automation Can Undermine the Meaning of Work Before It Eliminates Jobs

Replaceable but Employed: Automation and the Meaning of Work

A new NBER working paper by Joshua S. Gans explores how automation can harm workers even when they keep their jobs. The model considers jobs where workers value both producing useful output and knowing their contribution matters. A credible machine alternative can weaken that sense of meaning, raising compensation when wages adjust fully or leaving workers worse off when they don't. The paper also shows that an external developer might profit from publicly demonstrating a machine before licensing it, creating a 'meaning externality' that can make automation socially harmful.