Previous bouts of automation most certainly did harm many workers. That other workers eventually got jobs and a higher standard of living didn't help many of th

Previous bouts of automation most certainly did harm many workers. That other workers eventually got jobs and a higher standard of living didn't help many of the people who lost positions and status. When this happens on a small scale, it's often possible to relocate in a big country like the US. When this sort of industrial shift happens simultaneously across the geographic range where migration has low friction, workers whose cognitive ability or general flexibility is inadequate to retraining are well and truly screwed.