Technological unemployment is the loss of jobs caused by technological change . Such change typically includes the introduction of labour-saving "mechanical-muscle" machines or more efficient "mechanical-mind" processes ( automation ). Just as horses employed as prime movers were gradually made obsolete by the automobile, humans' jobs have also been affected throughout modern history . Historical examples include artisan weavers reduced to poverty after the introduction of mechanized looms . During World War II , Alan Turing 's Bombe machine compressed and decoded thousands of man-years worth of encrypted data in a matter of hours. A contemporary example of technological unemployment is the displacement of retail cashiers by self-service tills .