This article says the first self driving road legal truck was approved last month. And it says it will put 3.5 million drivers out of work. But it also says it will kill many of the businesses that cater to them like restaurants and motels. Also think traffic tickets, repair shops, even medical businesses will be hurt by the loss of injuries in wrecks.
That's a lot of people. The risk of labor dislocations really is much higher this go around. And it will probably put a lot of people out of work who are going to be difficult to retrain. There is still a big question as to how fast those people are put out of work.
I do think we are going to have to have bigger safety nets. But I also think it would be a huge mistake to turn our backs on the capitalistic model. No other model will find new employment opportunities as fast. No other model will drive invention or investment like capitalism.
And that’s just long haul trucks. Once that technology is proven it will take over short haul, cabs, buses, trains, and boats.
I don’t know about turning our back on any model. But we need to comprehend how we expect people to function in a world that can produce a very high standard of living for every one with only enough jobs for maybe 25% of the population.