It's easy to overlook the potential drawbacks to an autonomous future. Self-driving cars are, in most cases, safer than traditional vehicles, easy, and efficient. But they are one of the most dramatic examples of disruptive technology on the market today, and, as such, they will absolutely change the U.S. economy and job market.
A recent report by Goldman Sachs pointed out that automated vehicles will potentially cost the U.S. job market 25,000 jobs a month. That's around 300,000 jobs a year!
The study showcases an obvious problem, with roughly 4 million people driving professionally in the U.S., the automation of the industry will result in a lot of lost jobs. That's a significant amount of people looking for work in an industry that's largely moved on.
It's unlikely automation will be stopped. Both Uber and Tesla are looking toward a future with driverless cars, that's a lot of capital and talent to stand in the way of. And, truth be told, the last luddite movement didn't really do so well.
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