The coronavirus epidemic is presenting us with ample opportunities for increased automation and remote delivery of goods and services.
Though our current situation may force us into using more robots and automated systems sooner than we’d planned, it will end up saving us money and creating opportunity.
ARK Invest’s research predicts automation could add $800 billion to US GDP over the next 5 years and $12 trillion during the next 15 years.
On this trajectory, GDP would end up being 40 percent higher with automation than without it.
In the meantime some people are benefiting from automation in ways that maybe weren’t expected.
As 3D printing gets cheaper and more accessible, it’s also being more widely adopted, and people are finding more applications.
No amount of automation is going to change that, and beyond lowering costs or increasing GDP, our greatest and most crucial responsibility will always be to take care of each other.