Here’s the deal: The East Coast port strike is getting a lot of attention for its potential disruption to the economy — which is precisely the point. No dockworkers means no bananas (or whatever), which means no profits for the companies that produce and ship them. While research shows automation has obvious benefits, like lower operating costs and fewer human-related errors, port automation does not, on its own, significantly improve performance, according to a 2018 McKinsey report. But automation anxiety is rapidly spilling over into office work, where managers are adopting AI in the hopes of replacing human work or amplifying production. As Washington Post columnist Heather Long wrote Tuesday, the strike is “an early battle of well-paid workers against advanced automation.

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Persons: CNN Business ’, It’s, ”, Dennis Daggett, Mark Felix, Sameera Fazili, Biden, it’s, …, ” Fazili, Heather Long Organizations: CNN Business, New York CNN, Hollywood, McKinsey, International Longshoremen’s Association, Economic, Getty, National Economic Council, Washington Locations: New York, East Coast, China, Singapore, Europe, Port of New York, New Jersey, Long Beach, Los Angeles, AFP