Book section: Should we fear or welcome automation? On the one hand, fear may prevail if we believe that human workers will be replaced by machines which perform their tasks, thereby increasing unemployment and reducing the labor share. On the other hand, we may welcome automation since it spurs growth and prosperity, as illustrated by the big technological revolutions – steam engine in the early 1800s, electricity in the 1920s – none of which generated the mass unemployment anticipated by some.