I hear that, but Acemoglu does not represent the mainstream economic view on Total Factor Productivity. The mainstream view is that “If the same output can be produced with fewer inputs or if output rises given the same inputs, then TFP increases.” Now forget about the academia of it all. Practically speaking autonomous driving has the following effects: - reduces the cost of producing trucking services - improves the efficiency of the transportation sector - allows trucks to operate longer hours - reduces accidents, downtime, and fuel inefficiencies - lowers the per-mile cost of moving goods The net effect is massively beneficial (lower costs!) to consumers as a whole. So while I agree that we need to be thoughtful about how we support those displaced by AI, I struggle to understand why we’d implement the blunt instrument of protectionism for a specific class of worker at the expense of substantially higher costs for all other consumers in the country.