I don’t need a person at a hotel front desk to check me in, I don’t need a taxi dispatcher to call me a car, and I don’t need secretaries to handle my scheduling. Automated reports remove the need for many middle management positions, and it all manifests itself as stagnant wages for warehouse type work which isn’t yet automated.
Imagine Google's customer service, but everywhere. No thanks.
Automation shouldn't be replacing people in the workforce, it should be allowing us to do our jobs more efficiently and tackle the more pressing, human issues that require nuance.
Personally, I like all the new automated services, and I would say the benefits have outweighed the issues. The gaps in the system don’t require as many people as before to fill, or perhaps the ones that are required don’t need to be as highly trained so they offer lower pay.
For example, Home Depot and Lowe’s websites now show you exactly where an item is in the store, which is very helpful to a shopper. But that may also cause some employees to be made redundant as they theoretically have more time to assist with other things assuming they are helping fewer customers find things. This one change might not affect the numbers, but combined with online ordering, in store pickup, self checkout machines, it might all add up to a few less positions at the store.
Self checkout at the grocery store is still a mess that requires frequent intervention from on-hand employees, and even the most advanced system still usually requires someone there for insurance. Hell, the best minds in the country still can't get cars to drive themselves without someone on deck to pull the plug if it all goes tits up.
Automation is nice, but it's not smart enough. Not yet at least.