--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In a 2016 book widely publicized in the…" description: "\"“In a 2016 book widely publicized in the US, Stern claimed that 58 per cent of all jobs would be automated eventually, driven by the ethos of sharehold..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/08b/guy-standing-4017_books_in-a-2016-book-widely-publicized-in-the_785657.jpg" --- # In a 2016 book widely publicized in the US, Stern claimed… ![“In a 2016 book widely publicized in the US, Stern claimed that 58 per cent of all jobs would be automated eventually, driven by the ethos of shareholder value. He told the American media group Bloomberg, ‘It’s not like the fall of the auto and steel industries. That hit just a sector of the…” quote by Guy Standing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/08b/guy-standing-4017_books_in-a-2016-book-widely-publicized-in-the_785657.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/08b/guy-standing-4017_books_in-a-2016-book-widely-publicized-in-the_785657.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/08b/guy-standing-4017_books_in-a-2016-book-widely-publicized-in-the_785657.jpg) > ““In a 2016 book widely publicized in the US, Stern claimed that 58 per cent of all jobs would be automated eventually, driven by the ethos of shareholder value. He told the American media group Bloomberg, ‘It’s not like the fall of the auto and steel industries. That hit just a sector of the country. This will be widespread. People will realize that we don’t have a storm anymore; we have a tsunami.’16 Nevertheless, there are reasons to be sceptical about the prospect of a jobless or even workless future. It is the latest version of the ‘lump of labour fallacy’, the idea that there is only a certain amount of labour and work to be done, so that if more of it can be automated or done by intelligent robots, human workers will be rendered redundant. In any case, very few jobs can be automated in their entirety. The suggestion in a much-cited study17 that nearly half of all US jobs are vulnerable to automation has been challenged by, among others, the OECD, which puts the figure of jobs ‘at risk’ at 9 per cent for industrialized countries.18”” [Guy Standing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-standing/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Automation is often overstated; only a small share of jobs are truly at risk, contrary to sensational claims. **In simple terms:** Only a few jobs are truly at risk from automation. Key Takeaway Focus on adaptable skills, not fear. Themes technology economics future of work Mood analytical cautious Type informative critical When to use this quote - career planning - policy making - education reform - business strategy Key Concepts automation labor market dynamics skill displacement Questions to Reflect On - What skills will remain valuable? - How can societies support displaced workers? A Different Perspective Technological change can create new roles, not just eliminate. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Work to be done](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work-to-be-done/) ## Related quotes > [We need to be clear - leaving the single market will put trade and jobs at risk.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wes-streeting/we-need-to-be-clear-leaving-the-single-market-will-put-trade-and-jobs/) [Wes Streeting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wes-streeting/) > [There is a lot of work to be done to make sure our leaders reflect the people they are supposed to represent. 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That said, secondary factors…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/venkatesh-narayanamurti/evaluation-must-be-done-in-hindsight-after-the-work-has-been-done-not/) Venkatesh Narayanamurti > [Today I know that there is still work to be done, but along the way I am achieving my dreams.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/candace-parker/today-i-know-that-there-is-still-work-to-be-done-but-along-the-way-i/) [Candace Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/candace-parker/) > [Remember that you are needed. There is at least one important work to be done that will not be done unless you do it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-l-allen/remember-that-you-are-needed-there-is-at-least-one-important-work-to/) [Charles L. Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-l-allen/) > [I know playwrights who like to kid themselves into saying that their characters are so well formed that they just take over. They determine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-albee/i-know-playwrights-who-like-to-kid-themselves-into-saying-that-their/) [Edward Albee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-albee/) > [“The energy of the mind is commensurate with the work to be done.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-energy-of-the-mind-is-commensurate-with-the-work-to-be-done/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Tea? At the beach? No time for luxuries, Holly. There is important work to be done.” He winked at Butler. “Are you sure you’re…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eoin-colfer/tea-at-the-beach-no-time-for-luxuries-holly-there-is-important-work/) [Eoin Colfer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eoin-colfer/) > [People talk about offensive chemistry all the time, but defensive chemistry is something you have to build, too, and there's a lot of that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-nurse/people-talk-about-offensive-chemistry-all-the-time-but-defensive/) [Nick Nurse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-nurse/) ## More by Guy Standing > [“The ethical and philosophical justifications for basic income – social justice, freedom and economic security – have been well established. They are embedded in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-standing/the-ethical-and-philosophical-justifications-for-basic-income-social/) [Guy Standing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-standing/) > [What we can say with confidence is that the technological revolution is worsening inequality, due mostly to mechanisms that limit free markets. It is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-standing/what-we-can-say-with-confidence-is-that-the-technological-revolution/) [Guy Standing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-standing/) > [“While there are reasons to be sceptical about the predicted technological dystopia that has prompted many high-tech plutocrats to come out in support of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-standing/while-there-are-reasons-to-be-sceptical-about-the-predicted/) [Guy Standing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-standing/) > [“Selective paternalism, for those on low incomes or for other groups needing state assistance, is perhaps even worse than general paternalism, since the minority…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-standing/selective-paternalism-for-those-on-low-incomes-or-for-other-groups/) [Guy Standing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-standing/) > [A democratically governed national fracking fund should be set up, perhaps similar to what Norway and Alaska have. 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People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [“Within the pages of books, I've journeyed to Mandalay, the Milky Way and Santa Fe, without once having to leave my armchair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-ansbro/within-the-pages-of-books-i-ve-journeyed-to-mandalay-the-milky-way/) [Kevin Ansbro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-ansbro/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“Tacitus did not write a most dangerous book. His readers made it so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-k-krebs/tacitus-did-not-write-a-most-dangerous-book-his-readers-made-it-so/) Christopher K. Krebs > [“Take some books and read; that’s an immense help; and books are always good company if you have the right sort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/take-some-books-and-read-that-s-an-immense-help-and-books-are-always/) [Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [“Be careful about reading health books. Some fine day you'll die of a misprint.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-herz/be-careful-about-reading-health-books-some-fine-day-you-ll-die-of-a/) Markus Herz > [But editors are still the world's readers. And thus the eyes of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/but-editors-are-still-the-world-s-readers-and-thus-the-eyes-of-the/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) [Browse all 59,485 Books quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“In a 2016 book widely publicized in the US, Stern claimed that 58 per cent of all jobs would be automated eventually, driven by the ethos of shareholder value. He told the American media group Bloomberg, ‘It’s not like the fall of the auto and steel industries. That hit just a sector of the country. This will be widespread. People will realize that we don’t have a storm anymore; we have a tsunami.’16 Nevertheless, there are reasons to be sceptical about the prospect of a jobless or even workless future. It is the latest version of the ‘lump of labour fallacy’, the idea that there is only a certain amount of labour and work to be done, so that if more of it can be automated or done by intelligent robots, human workers will be rendered redundant. In any case, very few jobs can be automated in their entirety. The suggestion in a much-cited study17 that nearly half of all US jobs are vulnerable to automation has been challenged by, among others, the OECD, which puts the figure of jobs ‘at risk’ at 9 per cent for industrialized countries.18”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Guy Standing" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-standing/in-a-2016-book-widely-publicized-in-the-us-stern-claimed-that-58-per/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Books" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-standing/in-a-2016-book-widely-publicized-in-the-us-stern-claimed-that-58-per/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/08b/guy-standing-4017_books_in-a-2016-book-widely-publicized-in-the_785657.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/08b/guy-standing-4017_books_in-a-2016-book-widely-publicized-in-the_785657.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/08b/guy-standing-4017_books_in-a-2016-book-widely-publicized-in-the_785657.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“In a 2016 book widely publicized in the US, Stern claimed that 58 per cent of all jobs would be automated…” — Guy Standing", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Guy Standing", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-standing/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“In a 2016 book widely publicized...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-standing/in-a-2016-book-widely-publicized-in-the-us-stern-claimed-that-58-per/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-standing/in-a-2016-book-widely-publicized-in-the-us-stern-claimed-that-58-per/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```