His Name is Sean

Yesterday, I went to the eye doctor.

The doctor conducted the usual eye exam. A series of choices were projected in front of my eyes.

“Number one?”

“Or number two?”

The visit with the doctor lasted 8 minutes.

Then, it was time to select a new pair of glasses. An optician came forward and offered to help.

The visit with the optician lasted 48 minutes.

I looked at the optician’s name tag. His name was Sean.

Sean looked down at the computer screen with his eyes peered over his glasses. He began to type on his keyboard, entering information into a series of long forms, teeny-tiny drop-down arrows, and endless scrolls. He withdrew a heavy sigh.

“This software is a bit slow to get through. I apologize for the wait.”

I said it was no problem. He gave a look of surprise, almost as if I was the first customer to ever practice patience. Then, he continued to share more.

“You know what, despite how slow this is, our greatest fear is getting a new software update.”

“Your greatest fear?” I asked, with fierce curiosity.

“Oh yeah. A new software update causes a huge disruption for all of us. It takes months to get things back on track, and if we don’t adapt fast enough, it can affect our paycheck.”

He waved his hand in the air, aghast by the turbulent memories of past software updates.

In 2019, Oxford Economics reported that each industrial robot is on average replacing 1.6 human workers around the world, projecting that the number of displaced workers could reach tens of millions in the coming decade. And in 2018, the total sales of medical robots increased by 48%, compared to the year before.

In the United States, workers who become laid-off due to automation typically see a permanent 17–30% reduction in wages when they return to the workforce.

I looked back at Sean, conflicted by the choice of two emotions.

I wanted the time to complete this task to go by faster.

But I didn’t want Sean to lose his job.

But I wanted the time to go by faster.

But I didn’t want Sean to lose his job.