The Paradox of Mass Migration and Robots in the Age of Automation
Introduction
We stand at a pivotal juncture in human history, facing two seemingly contradictory narratives about the future of work and society. On one side, we hear urgent calls for increased migration to address labor shortages and aging populations in developed economies. Proponents argue that without a steady influx of young, dynamic workers from abroad, advanced nations will face economic stagnation, declining productivity, and fiscal crises as fewer workers support a growing elderly population.
On the other side, the rapid rise of automation, artificial intelligence, and robotics threatens to upend labor markets and displace millions of workers across the skill spectrum. As machines become increasingly capable of performing complex cognitive and physical tasks, the specter of technological unemployment looms large, raising questions about the future of work and the viability of our economic systems.
These competing visions present a perplexing paradox: can the demand for mass migration coexist with the reality of widespread automation? Will the robots take our jobs, or will they create new opportunities for human workers to thrive? To unravel these questions, we must explore the forces driving each phenomenon and consider their implications for the future of labor, inequality, and social cohesion in the age of intelligent machines. This is a prefect subject for History Future Now! Let's get started.
Part 1: The Case for Mass Migration
1.1. Aging Populations and Demographic Decline
Across the developed world, populations are aging rapidly as birth rates plummet and life expectancies rise. In Japan, Italy, and Germany, over 20% of the population is already over 65, while the U.S., U.K., and Canada are close behind. This demographic shift presents significant challenges for economic growth, public finances, and social stability.
As the elderly share of the population grows, the working-age cohort shrinks, leading to labor shortages and declining productivity. At the same time, the costs of supporting retirees through pensions, healthcare, and social services rise, straining government budgets and intergenerational solidarity. Without a significant increase in migration, experts argue, aging societies face a bleak future of economic stagnation and social upheaval.
1.2. Filling Labor Shortages
Even today, many advanced economies face acute labor shortages in critical sectors like healthcare, technology, agriculture, and manufacturing. In the U.S., for example, there are over 1 million unfilled jobs in healthcare alone, while farmers from California to Washington state report billions in lost crops due to a lack of workers.
Migrants, who tend to be younger and more mobile than native-born workers, play a vital role in filling these gaps. In the U.K., migrants comprise over a quarter of doctors and 17% of nurses. In Canada, immigrants account for nearly half of science and engineering doctoral graduates.
Without the skills and dynamism that migrants bring, many industries would struggle to find the workers they need to grow and innovate.
1.3. Boosting Economic Growth
Beyond filling immediate labor gaps, migration can provide a powerful boost to long-term economic growth and living standards. A number of studies have shown that immigration increases productivity, entrepreneurship, and innovation in host countries.
Many migrants tend to be highly motivated and aspirational, with a strong drive to succeed in their new homes, especially in places like the US. In the U.S., immigrants are twice as likely as native-born citizens to start businesses, and nearly half of America's "unicorn" startups (valued at over $1 billion) have at least one immigrant founder.
At a macroeconomic level, migration increases aggregate demand and expands the tax base, supporting consumption and public finances. A 2018 report by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine found that immigration had a net positive fiscal impact in the U.S., with immigrants contributing $63 billion more in taxes than they received in public benefits over the past decade.
It is noteworthy that this is not the case for immigration to the European Union, with its more generous welfare levels. According to a 2023 report by the University of Amsterdam, immigrants from developed Western countries make substantial positive fiscal contributions to the Netherlands over their lifetimes. Those from North America contribute around €200,000 per person, while immigrants from the UK, Ireland, Scandinavia, and Japan each contribute between €194,000 to €208,000 per person.
In contrast, immigrants from developing non-Western countries impose significant fiscal costs. Those from the Horn of Africa and Sudan have a negative net impact of -€606,000 per person, while immigrants from Morocco (-€542,000), Afghanistan, Iran, Syria and Iraq (-€418,000), and Turkey (-€340,000) also generate large costs. Other Western European countries are likely to have similar results as they also have similar worker protections and high welfare standards.
1.4. Supporting Retirement Systems
As the ratio of retirees to workers rises, many countries face a looming crisis in their pension and social security systems. Without a significant increase in working-age adults, there will simply not be enough taxpayers to support the growing ranks of pensioners.
Migration offers a potential solution to this demographic imbalance. By bringing in young, productive workers who pay taxes and contribute to social insurance systems, countries can shore up the long-term sustainability of their retirement programs. In the U.S., for example, immigrants contribute over $300 billion per year to the Social Security trust fund.
Moreover, migrants themselves tend to have higher fertility rates than native-born citizens, helping to slow population aging and maintain a more favorable worker-to-pensioner ratio over time. In this way, migration can act as a demographic "safety valve," mitigating the fiscal pressures of aging societies.
1.5. Caring for the Elderly
As life expectancy rises and the number of elderly people grows, the demand for healthcare and eldercare services is increasing rapidly. The U.S. alone will need an additional 1.1 million home health aides and personal care assistants by 2030 to keep up with the needs of its aging population.
Migrants already play a critical role in providing care for the elderly in many advanced economies. In the U.S., nearly a quarter of health care workers are foreign-born, while in the U.K., migrants make up 17% of the adult social care workforce. These migrant care workers perform demanding and often low-paid work that is essential to the health and dignity of aging societies.
Without a steady supply of migrant labor, many countries would face a severe shortage of caregivers, leading to poorer health outcomes, greater strains on families, and a reduced quality of life for the elderly. As longevity increases and the ranks of the very old swell, the need for migrant care workers will only grow more acute.
In summary, the economic case for immigration in the context of aging populations and labor shortages is strong, particularly in countries with flexible labor markets and modest welfare states like the United States. However, in Europe, with its more extensive worker protections and generous social benefits, the fiscal impact of immigration varies significantly depending on the origin and skill level of the migrants. While highly-skilled immigrants from developed countries tend to make substantial positive contributions, those from developing regions often impose net costs on European welfare systems over their lifetimes.
Yet even as the case for migration grows stronger in some contexts, the rise of automation and artificial intelligence raises profound questions about the future of work and the ongoing demand for human labor. If machines can perform an ever-expanding range of tasks more efficiently and cheaply than humans, will migrants still be needed to fill gaps in the labor market? Or will they, too, find themselves displaced by the inexorable march of technological progress?
Part 2: Robots and the Future of Work
2.1. The Accelerating Pace of Automation
The history of capitalism is in many ways the history of automation - of machines and technology steadily replacing human labor in a widening range of tasks and occupations. From the spinning jenny and the power loom of the Industrial Revolution to the assembly lines and computerization of the 20th century, automation has been a persistent driver of productivity growth and job displacement.
Yet recent years have seen a marked acceleration in the pace and scope of automation, driven by rapid advancements in artificial intelligence, robotics, and machine learning. Today's robots and AI systems are not the clunky, limited machines of the past, but increasingly flexible, intelligent, and capable of taking on complex cognitive and physical tasks.
This new wave of automation is already transforming industries from manufacturing and logistics to finance and customer service. In factories around the world, robots are assembling cars, electronics, and appliances with speed and precision that far exceeds human workers. In warehouses and distribution centers, autonomous drones and conveyor systems are revolutionizing supply chains and reducing the need for human pickers and packers.
Even in traditionally "white-collar" domains like law, journalism, and medicine, AI systems are beginning to encroach on tasks that were once the exclusive preserve of human professionals. Machine learning algorithms can now review legal contracts, write news articles, and diagnose diseases with accuracy that rivals or exceeds human experts.
The potential for job displacement in these fields is significant. For example, a 2019 study by the Brookings Institution estimated that up to 25% of jobs in the U.S. legal industry could be automated in the coming years, while a 2020 report by the World Economic Forum suggested that AI could replace up to 85 million jobs globally by 2025.
As the capabilities of AI and robotics continue to grow, the potential for automation to displace human labor across the economy is becoming increasingly apparent.
2.2. The Rise of General Purpose Humanoid Robots
Perhaps the most striking development in recent years has been the emergence of general purpose humanoid robots - machines designed to closely resemble and interact with humans, with the flexibility to perform a wide variety of tasks in different environments.
Companies like Tesla, Boston Dynamics, and Agility Robotics are at the forefront of this trend, developing robots that can walk, run, climb stairs, manipulate objects, and even perform delicate tasks like sewing and cooking. These robots are not the single-purpose machines of the past, but versatile platforms that can be programmed to take on a range of roles in factories, homes, and public spaces.
Tesla's Optimus robot, for example, is envisioned as a general-purpose humanoid assistant that can perform tasks like cooking, cleaning, and even providing elder care. With a target price point below $20,000, Optimus could soon be within reach of many households, potentially transforming the economics of domestic labor.
Other companies like Figure.ai and Sanctuary AI are developing humanoid robots for applications ranging from manufacturing and logistics to healthcare and customer service. These robots leverage advanced control systems, sensors, and natural language processing to navigate complex environments and interact seamlessly with humans.
The implications of this new generation of humanoid robots are profound. As they become more affordable and capable, they could potentially automate a vast range of jobs that have long been considered safe from machines - from childcare and cooking to driving and manual labor.
2.3. The Displacement of Low-Skill Jobs
One of the most immediate impacts of automation is likely to be the displacement of low-skill, routine jobs - the very occupations that have been the mainstay of migrant labor in recent decades.In sectors like agriculture, construction, and manufacturing, robots are already beginning to take on tasks that were once performed by human workers. Fruit-picking robots, brick-laying robots, and sewing robots are just a few examples of machines that are replacing low-wage migrant labor in these industries.
As these technologies become more advanced and affordable, the potential for displacement is vast. A recent study by the World Bank estimated that up to 800 million jobs worldwide could be automated by 2030, with low-skill workers in developing countries being the hardest hit.
For migrant workers who have long relied on these jobs as a path to economic mobility, the rise of automation presents a daunting challenge. As machines become cheaper and more capable than human labor, the demand for low-skill migrant workers may decline sharply, leaving them with few options for employment.
2.4. The Automation of Cognitive Tasks
But it's not just low-skill jobs that are at risk of automation. With the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence, even high-skill cognitive tasks are increasingly within reach of machines. AI systems can process vast amounts of data, identify patterns, and make decisions with speed and accuracy that surpasses human capabilities. This enables them to take on complex tasks like financial analysis, legal research, and medical diagnosis that were once the exclusive domain of highly-trained professionals.
In fields like finance, law, and medicine, AI systems are beginning to outperform human professionals in tasks like fraud detection, contract review, and disease diagnosis.
As these technologies continue to improve, they could potentially automate a wide range of knowledge work jobs - from accountants and financial analysts to lawyers and radiologists. For high-skill migrants who have long been sought after for their expertise and training, this trend presents a new and uncertain future.
2.5. The Rise of Robot-as-a-Service
Perhaps most disruptive of all is the emerging model of "robot-as-a-service" - where businesses can rent or lease robots on an as-needed basis, without having to invest in expensive hardware or maintenance.
Companies like Amazon, Google, and Toyota are already experimenting with this model, offering cloud-based AI and robotics services that can be accessed by businesses of all sizes. This could potentially lower the barriers to automation for many companies, allowing them to quickly deploy robots and AI systems to perform a wide range of tasks.
Under this model, businesses would no longer need to hire large numbers of workers - either native-born or migrant - to perform routine tasks. Instead, they could simply rent robots or AI services as needed, scaling up or down depending on demand. This could lead to a profound shift in the nature of work, with fewer permanent jobs and more temporary, project-based contracts.
The rise of robot-as-a-service could also accelerate the pace of automation across the economy, as businesses face increasing pressure to adopt these technologies to remain competitive. As robots become cheaper, more flexible, and more widely available, the potential for job displacement across all skill levels may be greater than ever before.
The automation of both low-skill and high-skill tasks, coupled with the rise of robot-as-a-service models, poses a significant challenge to the future of work. As machines become more capable and cost-effective, the demand for human labor across the skill spectrum may decline, leaving both migrant and native-born workers vulnerable to displacement.
Part 3 - Conclusion: The Paradox of Migration and Automation
The demographic realities of the 21st century are stark and unavoidable. With populations aging rapidly and birth rates plummeting, many advanced economies could face a future of stagnation and decline without a significant influx of young, productive migrants. There is an economic case for mass migration. The US with its more flexible labour market and lower levels of welfare mangers immigrants reasonably well. In Europe, with its greater labour protections and high welfare standards, the economic case for migration is positive for those coming from other developed countries but generally negative from those from developing countries.
Yet at the very same time, the accelerating pace of automation and the rise of increasingly capable robots and AI systems are casting doubt on the long-term demand for human labor itself. As machines become more flexible, intelligent, and affordable, they are beginning to encroach on a wider range of tasks and occupations - from low-skill jobs in agriculture and manufacturing to high-skill cognitive work in fields like finance and medicine.
The emergence of general purpose humanoid robots, designed to work alongside humans in a variety of roles, represents a particularly disruptive development. As these machines become more advanced and widely available, they could potentially automate vast swaths of the service sector and even domestic labor - the very jobs that have long been the mainstay of migrant workers.
Herein lies the paradox: if robots can perform the same tasks as human workers more efficiently and at lower cost, what is the economic rationale for mass migration? Why should countries open their borders to large numbers of foreign workers when machines can increasingly fill the same gaps in the labor market?
The irony is that the same demographic forces driving the need for migration - namely, aging populations and shrinking workforces - are also accelerating the push towards automation. As labor shortages intensify and wage pressures rise, businesses face increasing incentives to invest in labor-saving technologies like robots and AI. In this sense, migration and automation can be seen as two sides of the same coin - both driven by the inexorable march of demographic change.
Yet while migration offers a vital lifeline for aging societies in the short term, it is no panacea for the long-term challenges of automation. Even if countries were to open their borders and welcome millions of new workers, there is no guarantee that these migrants would be immune to the job-displacing effects of robots and AI. Indeed, as we have seen, many of the low-skill, routine jobs that have long been the mainstay of migrant labor are among the most vulnerable to automation in the coming years.
Ultimately, the paradox of migration and automation demands a fundamental rethinking of our economic and social models. If machines can increasingly perform the tasks that have long been the domain of human workers, then we must ask: what is the role of human labor in the economy of the future? What is the purpose of work itself, and how do we ensure that the benefits of automation are widely shared rather than concentrated in the hands of a few?
How we choose to respond to these challenges will determine not only the fate of migrant workers, but the very fabric of our social and economic lives in the century to come.
