The Dangerous Economist: Two recent articles on robots and human workers

Yes, robots and machines can replace workers. But sometimes robots and machines lead to new types of jobs and also the increase in output they might generate will lead to even more workers being needed.

I used a book called The Economics Of Macro Issues by Daniel Benjamin and Roger LeRoy Miller. It mentioned Luddites, people who destroyed industrial equipment in England in the early 1800s. They were weavers who lost their jobs to new machinery. One of the articles I link to mentions Luddites.

The first article is The Battle Over Robots at U.S. Ports Is On: Striking dockworkers are back to work—but disagreement over automation stands in the way of lasting peace by Paul Berger, Chip Cutter and Chao Deng of The WSJ. Excerpts:

"Shipping executives note with frustration that U.S. ports lag behind facilities in Europe and Asia in automation. Major Asian and European ports consistently rank higher than their U.S. counterparts in an annual ranking by the World Bank that measures factors such as port productivity and the amount of time a ship spends in port.
One issue of contention is the effect of adapting automation on jobs. Employers say it creates new jobs as automation requires new roles and drives more cargo through ports. Unions point to roles lost to machines—a dockworker, for instance, might not be equipped to slot into a new job that requires specialized or high-tech skills.
It’s challenging to quantify the impact. Many factors impact the amount of work at any given terminal, including the size and frequency of ships arriving and departing"
"Shipping industry officials say they need machines, like automated stacking cranes powered by artificial intelligence, to squeeze ever-growing volumes of cargo through ports hemmed in by sprawling metropolitan areas. Some of the world’s most efficient ports, such as Khalifa Port in Abu Dhabi, are built on greenfield or offshore sites where space is abundant.
The U.S. already boasts some advanced cargo-handling operations. In sections of ports around the country, automated cranes lift massive containers from ships, autonomous vehicles carry boxes across the docks, and yet more autonomous cranes organize giant container stacks. Cameras and computer systems read codes on containers and truck trailers to automatically allow trucks into and out of ports and to track and speed the flow of cargo."
"Automation drives predictability and consistency. Machines don’t call in sick, stop to chat in the parking lot with friends or text friends and family members during work hours. But they can’t solve everything. The supply-chain snarls during the Covid pandemic that led more than 100 containerships to back up off the coast of Long Beach and Los Angeles were caused as much by shortages of warehouse space, trucking equipment and railcars as they were by inefficiencies on the docks.
Still, the sole fully automated terminal at Long Beach worked ships and managed container stacks better than all of its peers in the pandemic. Now shipping companies are looking to add autonomous cranes and vehicles to terminals large enough to accommodate them. In terminals too small or awkwardly shaped to deploy robots, they’re aiming to make better use of cameras, artificial intelligence and other technologies."
"the West Coast employer group that represents companies like Maersk said the number of longshore workers at the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports where automation is increasingly used employed 13% more dockworkers last year than five years earlier."
"At the Port of New York and New Jersey, the largest port on the East Coast, the number of licensed dockworkers in 2020 was virtually unchanged from a decade earlier at just over 5,800 workers, according to the port’s regulator.
Shipping industry officials say that more efficient cargo operations lead to more cargo, which requires more dockworkers to load and unload ships. Machinery requires more mechanics and highly skilled employees who can oversee, upgrade and fix computers and robots."
"Over the past century, machines have upended many industries. In the U.S., robots have been used on automotive assembly lines since at least the early 1960s, with carmakers turning to automation to increase productivity, cut labor costs and reduce injuries, particularly on repetitive tasks. Robots took on the difficult work of lifting, welding and painting cars. Today, the auto industry is a top consumer of robots around the world."
"To lessen the pain for workers, the U.S. may be able to draw lessons from how German firms incorporated automation and technology, MIT’s Acemoglu said. There, unions and worker councils represent the workforce and advocate for technological changes and training programs that can allow employees to take on new jobs within the same organization. “The ILA saying no to robots is never going to work,” he said."
"Proponents point to technology’s safety benefits. Dockworkers work long hours, sometimes around the clock, in heat and cold and rain, and around large containers, vehicles and cranes. Automation allows them to work in the comfort and relative safety of a climate-controlled office."
"“Ever since the Luddites, it’s been pretty hard for workers to really slow down automation over the longer term,” said Harry Holzer, an economist at Georgetown University. “Unions can slow it down a bit, but really, not very much, and not for very long.”"

The second article is At a Brooklyn Warehouse, Robots Are Reshaping the Grocery-Delivery Business: A discount grocer’s pilot program is using robots to help complete orders—and keep prices down by Kate King of The WSJ.

"Robotic arms pluck plastic bins filled with groceries and deliver them to dozens of robots on the ground. The robots send the items to workers, who pack them into grocery bags before handing them off to Uber drivers for delivery. The machine can assemble 50-item orders in six to eight minutes."
This was at "discount grocery chain Save A Lot"
"Grocery prices will be about 30% lower than those sold at a traditional supermarket thanks to the automation"
"the groceries can be delivered in as little as half an hour to Brooklyn customers within an 8-mile radius."
"The industry contends with thin profit margins and the complexity of assembling and delivering a wide variety of often perishable items"
"fulfilling online orders for boxed or canned goods is time and labor-intensive."
"“You’ve got people walking around with cans of soup, putting them on the shelf and then the next day you pay a different set of people walking around to take it off the shelf and put it into a box,” said Marshall Fisher, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School. “It’s not hard to see how it doubles labor costs.”"
"The entire fulfillment center is staffed by 10 people across two shifts, with workers largely responsible for loading groceries into the machine or customers’ grocery bags.
Aly Waddy, secretary-treasurer of the United Food and Commercial Worker Union’s Local 1500, which represents grocery and other food employees in New York, said she is worried that automated micro-fulfillment centers like this one will mean fewer jobs for her members."
"Increased automation was one reason dockworkers at dozens of U.S. ports recently went on three-day strike, and the issue is still under negotiation after the two sides agreed to a contract extension through Jan. 15, 2025."

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