Replaceable but Employed: Automation and the Meaning of Work

The paper demonstrates that when workers value both output and the knowledge that it reflects their personal contribution, a credible machine alternative reduces that sense of meaning even if the employee stays employed. Full wage compensation offsets the loss, but partial adjustments cause workers to bear part of it, making automation more attractive. The authors label this a “meaning externality,” whereby developers’ public demonstrations of machines lower the value of human work and can promote socially harmful automation.