From Hillary Shaw, Newport, Shropshire, UK
You wonder whether we should fear automation coming for our jobs (10 October, p 44). I think it may actually make the job market more unequal rather than shrink it outright.
There are some roles that we could automate, but in which it is cheaper to employ a human. Automation may remove middle-tier jobs in which a machine is cheaper, leaving a swathe of lower-paid roles plus some highly paid posts. For example, workers using IT-based navigation systems have already replaced many taxi drivers who have mental navigation skills. While computers can create art and carvings, humans will still clean the tools.
