Eric Dahlin

Papers

Total Citations

105

H-Index

About

Eric Dahlin is a sociologist whose research sits at the intersection of technology, work, and labor market inequality. Best known for his incisive investigations into automation and its effects on employment, Dahlin has made significant contributions to public and academic debates surrounding the so-called "robot apocalypse" in the modern workplace. His highly cited 2019 paper, "Are Robots Stealing Our Jobs?" — which has accumulated 98 citations — critically examines the widespread cultural anxiety surrounding automation, robotics, and artificial intelligence, challenging simplistic narratives by demonstrating that technological displacement spreads unevenly across industries and workers. Building on this foundation, his 2022 follow-up, "Are Robots Really Stealing Our Jobs? Perception versus Experience," pushes the field methodologically forward by directly measuring workers' lived experiences with automation rather than relying on aggregated geographic or industrial data — a notable advancement over prior research limitations. Together, these works position Dahlin as a careful, evidence-driven voice in one of the most consequential debates of the contemporary economy. His scholarship offers students and researchers an essential corrective to sensationalist media narratives, grounding the automation conversation in rigorous empirical analysis.