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Jeremy Mageau
E. Caruso
UWRT 103
04 April 2016
Inquiry Defense Paper
Technology has become such a crucial component of our society. So much so that many
people are not truly aware of the possible positive/negative effects it could have on the job
industry and ultimately on our personal lives. Advanced computers, robotics, and even selfdriving cars are some of the new technological advancements that pose a threat to several
occupations. On the other hand, some believe that computers being introduced into occupations
increases productivity which results in higher demand for new employees. This is why I believe
that this possible risk, or support, towards the livelihood of many groups of people should be
considered an important talking point for politicians because of these conflicting arguments. This
possible global problem is downplayed because technology has been around and developing
steadily for decades. Many believe these new technological breakthroughs will result in job
polarization, wage inequality, and even straight up unemployment while others believe job
creation will be the result of future technology.
For my genre product, I completed two mock letters each from members of society
working different occupations that are currently at high risk of being automated/computerized in
the near future. The two citizens I chose to portray within the letters were a bank teller, and a taxi
driver. The reason why I chose these middle class occupations is because many believe that job
polarization, the increase in lower and upper class jobs with simultaneous decrease in middle
class jobs, will be the ultimate effect of introducing more technology into the workplace (Autor

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5). This is because most middle class jobs have been found to be heavily based on routine which
increases the likelihood of that occupation becoming computerized/automated (Bessen 4). The
content of these letters consisted of the various concerns that many people within these industries
would be worried about. These letters will be sent to their states governor which exemplifies
how the growing problem of advancing technology is a probable political topic in the coming
years. I then created two mock responses, from the governor's point of view, to the concerns of
the citizens. Each response letter consisted of facts, data, and policies that helped to inform and
hopefully ease the stress felt by each of the citizens. I believe that demonstrating this interaction
between governor and citizen gives a full picture of what exactly is occurring within these two
job industries that I studied further and how technology is changing them.
The first letter I wrote was from the point of view of a single mother raising two children
and living off of child support and wages as a bank teller. I chose this type of family situation to
best illustrate how important lower-middle class jobs are to some members of society and how
technology wiping them out could be extremely detrimental. In the letter, I explain the rise in
production of ATMs over the last few decades and how this could affect the jobs of bank tellers
in the US. According to James Bessen, a professor at the Boston School of Law, the belief that
ATMs will steal jobs from bank tellers is actually a common misconception. In fact, since
ATMs became easily available in the 1990s the jobs of bank tellers have actually risen 2% per
decade. Why is this? What has happened is the deployment of ATMs have actually decreased
operation costs for banks which has caused a mass increase in the creation of banks. This
increase in the amount of banks drove up the demand for new bank tellers (Bessen 5). Another
factor that has contributed to the rise in bank tellers is their routine money handling tasks have
for the most part gone extinct, however, bank tellers are now being trained in what is called

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relationship banking. These are skills such as sales, interpersonal relations with customers, and
offering other services such as credit cards and loans (Autor 7). In the governors letter, I used
these facts to help ease the burden felt by the single mother.
The second letter I wrote was from the point of view of a middle-aged taxi driver. I chose
this job because it is also a lower/middle class occupation and it is at risk of being stolen by selfdriving cars. There are several different opinions on self-driving cars and its possible effects
because they have yet to be widely introduced to the public. Kevin Drum, a Portland State
University professor, believes that there is a real possibility that approximately 2.5 million
employees in the transportation industry, such as truck and taxi drivers, could be out of a job in
the coming decades. However, the fact that self driving cars still have yet to be released to the
public is a good sign for those in this industry (Drum 11). This is the main argument against the
claim that autonomous vehicles will steal millions of job which is that creating a safe, regulated
self-driving car that people across the country could use is impossible. If this technology does in
fact become available to the public in the coming years there are many reasons why they would
benefit society. Those who cannot drive such as the elderly will be able to travel places, there
will be a extremely high decline in the rate of crashes if they are made properly, and deploying
them could even lower gas emissions. Autonomous vehicles could however increase job
polarization because instead of self-employed middle class workers making money from
providing transportation there will be whole companies that own a set amount of taxis and will
collect all of the profits from travelers (Litman 4). In the governors response letter to the taxi
driver, I presented all of these arguments that were presented in my sources. The differing
arguments made it hard to choose whether self driving cars would benefit or harm society as a
whole which further proves how technologys effect on jobs is a plausible political topic.

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In conclusion, I believe this topic will be a political talking point in the near future
considering the amount of varying opinions on how technology will affect American jobs. If a
large portion of the middle class begins to shrink and unemployment rates increase, it may be
necessary to institute policies to minimize the harmful effects of technology. On the other hand,
introducing new forms of technology could increase the effectiveness and popularity of certain
occupations such as with bank tellers. Self-driving cars are a different conversation just because
no one truly knows what affect they could have on the transportation industry because they are
not widely used yet. I believe that the best solution to this possible problem is increasing the
level of education of the youth of America so that they learn versatile skills and are prepared for
jobs we cannot even imagine at this point in time. After all, education has developed steadily
over the past centuries which has lead to inventions such as automobiles, planes, and
smartphones. Who is to say that teens will no longer have to suffer through drivers education in
the next few years?

Old Works Cited

Allen, Katie. "Technology Has Created More Jobs than It Has Destroyed, Says 140 Years of
Data." The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 18 Aug. 2015. Web. 25 Feb.
2016.

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Edwards, Jim. "This Idea That Technology Destroys Jobs Is Garbage."Business Insider. Business
Insider, Inc, 05 June 2015. Web. 24 Feb. 2016.
Nuwer, Rachel. "Will Machines Eventually Take On Every Job?" BBC. BBC, 6 Aug. 2015. Web.
24 Feb. 2016.
Thompson, Cadie. "We've Reached a Tipping Point Where Technology Is Now Destroying More
Jobs than It Creates, Researcher Warns."Business Insider. Business Insider, Inc,
03 June

2015. Web. 24 Feb. 2016.

New Works Cited

Autor, David H.. Why Are There Still so Many Jobs? the History and Future of Workplace
Automation.The Journal of Economic Perspectives 29.3 (2015): 330. Web

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Bessen, James E. "How Computer Automation Affects Occupations: Technology, Jobs, and
Skills." Boston Univ. School of Law, Law and Economics Research Paper 15-49
(2015).
Drum, Kevin, and Mon May. "Welcome, Robot Overlords. Please Dont Fire Us?." Mother
Jones 13 (2013).
Litman, Todd. "Autonomous Vehicle Implementation Predictions." Victoria Transport Policy
Institute 28 (2014).