Technology in business is a tool, just as a very sharp knife is in the kitchen. The tool isn’t good or bad, the use of it is, and how you approach it must be a conscious choice.

A recent video on social media shows an autonomous pallet jack moving a pallet, and of course the comments went to “people are losing their job due to this.” Are some companies “just firing people” as technology means they don’t need as many people? Yes, and that should be addressed, the autonomous tools that replace humans have no bills, no families, the people now unemployed do.

So what can be done here, as technology is going to continue coming into the workplace? One suggestion is “just keep paying those laid off,” which is a slippery slope headed to socialism. A society that says “you get money for no work” is one where people will quickly decide “they’re not working and still get paid, so I can quit and still get paid.” That’s dangerous and should not be a solution, but can be a temporary measure to help laid off workers transition. Companies can, and many are, helping transition those who used to run manual machines to do work now done by robots to positions where they control or maintain the robots.

Others are transitioned to other roles, and to me, this is the proper way to address this. Some workers may be so close to retirement they choose that path, others may not wish to move to a “high tech use position,” and may seek employment elsewhere. The retiring employee will have their retirement and in many cases, will augment that income with a job that requires less of them. Those who move industries should receive unemployment for a short time, as they were laid off rather than they resigned. They also can be helped with resume writing, interview practice, perhaps job leads. Texas Workforce Commission, as one example, already does all three of those things, at no cost to the job seeker, so point to resources like that.

The ultimate takeaway here should never be that it’s “just good” or “just bad” and thus, a divided room that just argues. Have the conversation, but do so civilly, logically, and from a well reasoned position so that everyone walks away from that conversation without feeling attacked, belittled, or as if their opinion doesn’t matter.