Robots have been coming for and successfully eliminating jobs for a long time: ask the iceman, elevator operator, or travel agent (if you can still find one). But what happens when the robots come for your job, succeed, and your job remains? Sounds strange but consider the conflicting reality of bank tellers and the robot designed to replace them: the Automated Teller Machine (ATM).
The first ATM appeared in America in 1969. ATM's and the associated debit cards needed to use them, took off several decades later, aided in large part by legislation enacted by Congress to protect consumers in case their cards were stolen or misused (the Electronic Funds Transaction Act). With the proper consumer protection, and the correct economic incentives, the technology flourished.
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