Automation may seem like a problem of the past, but it’s still a huge economic issue. A large portion of that population worries about job security, and from that we can see automation poses a threat.

Experts estimate right around 30 to 40 percent of work done today will be automated in decades to come.

Shifting markets — labor or product — are nothing new to the United States. So what makes automation troublesome?

On one hand, theorists argue that automation would lead to a labor shortage, increased productivity and far less manufacturing cost.

On the other hand, they have total middle class displacement, unpredictable costs and a huge source of pollution.

So why would a society support higher unemployment rates just so your everyday items could be easier to make? Reasons may not seem clear at first, but when you see just beyond the surface, there it is.

The pace of industrial innovation has been rapidly increasing over the past few decades. When the characteristics of society hit a point of total automation in industrial firms, this can show that society is at a point of climax. It’s a turning point when humans become so good at a task society must adapt unique methods to progress further.

Without a need for small simple tasks, it opens the window of opportunity to the modern American. Without the option of a simple factory job, it will force individuals to pursue different, higher goals.

The U.S. will grow inefficient if we rely on a stagnant job market. Future jobs should not be held to the standards of an old economy.The decline in the market for factory jobs will produce a boost in the economy in other places. This shift in the job market could support jobs like engineering, computer sciences and even jobs in the financial field.

With automation, we are broadening the horizons for the future of the country, not just the people who exist in it today. Scientists of all fashions have come together to put citizens and workers in a place to move past the old standard toward a new optimal one.

Automation of simple tasks should be embraced as a challenge to our society. We need not to think of it as a hindrance of money, but as a teaching point for our fast-growing society.

Kyle Fitch is a columnist. Contact him at [email protected].