Imbalance between corporate gain and the average worker’s reward
While corporations are already reaping the overwhelming benefits of productivity and economic growth as a result of automation, the continued trend is predicted to make a $2.2 trillion boost to productivity between 2015 and 2030.
There is a disturbing divergence, however, between this growing economic surplus from automation and the average worker’s compensation. Research suggests that the gap between productivity and wage compensation for the average worker has been larger since the 2000s than at any point in the post-World War period.
Moving forward, the question of whether the economic gains from automation are likely to be redistributed equally remains highly questionable. If trends are anything to go by, the divergence is expected to grow exponentially.
40% of all jobs are predicted to be automated in Australia within the next 10 to 15 years.