A core mission of the Emma Coalition is to promote awareness of the need to prepare for the imminent Technology-Induced Displacement of Employees, or what we call the Coming TIDE™. It is out firm belief that with proper preparation, employers and employees can survive and indeed thrive in TIDE. Without adequate preparation, it may will wash over them, with direct and indirect costs that are hard to fathom.

In the weeks and months to come, we will be posting a series of essays on the impact of TIDE across a range of sectors, strategies for response, promising practices, and updates on state and federal policy solutions to face the TIDE.

This is the first entry of what will be ultimately collected as a monograph on TIDE and the expected impact of AI-driven automation on our economy and society. This first chapter provides historical background on previous technological revolutions and the ways in which they changed the nature of work. The next “chapter” will provide background on the technologies that are driving TIDE—artificial intelligence and robotics. We urge you to check back frequently as we explore all of these issues in greater detail.