Automation and the Five Stages of Grief

Cyber Monday At Amazon HQ, War on Want

Automation is here. Most of us love its outputs, though many of us aren’t aware of the extent of its proliferation. Or rather, we don’t want to be aware. For better or worse, COVID-19 lockdowns have made this reality visible to more people.

Consider how many billions of people spent the majority of their time at home for the past year, due to government-enforced lockdowns and social distancing requirements. Despite this new paradigm, many systems continue to thrive with minimal human presence. This has had a profound impact on society, to the degree that many people have developed COVID PTSD (or more accurately, Lockdown PTSD).

The way in which we as a society have dealt with the symptoms of automating away sectors of our economies aligns well with the five stages of grief as described in Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, MD’s book, On Death and Dying:

1. Denial
2. Anger
3. Bargaining
4. Depression
5. Acceptance

Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, MD’s book, On Death and Dying (2014)

Government Solutions to Job Attrition