But what about the technology and e-commerce companies that are changing the nature of work? Some observers argue that these innovators can do more to support American workers whose prospects are undermined by automation, particularly because these companies comprise such a direct threat to their employment. The innovators’ technologies affect the job market by making some jobs more valuable than others, “changing the skills needed, and perhaps making more jobs more susceptible to displacement and automation,” said Mark Muro, a senior fellow and policy director at the Brookings Institution. These companies best understand the new technologies; they also have the most to gain from the widespread use of their products.

As new research further reveals the effects that automation will have on workers— exacerbating socioeconomic inequality, for instance—some companies are “taking more and more of an interest in labor market problem-solving and the development of regional economies,” Muro said. But how much responsibility for job training should these companies take?

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Google announced a new program last year that provides free training online for students and teachers, small-business owners, job seekers, startup founders, and developers to acquaint them with the company’s tools. The training for students and teachers is centered on using G-suite, augmented reality, and general computer science; the training for small business owners and startup founders helps them understand how to market their businesses on Google and develop their websites. Apple is similarly helping people get the digital and computer-literacy skills that more and more jobs demand. Through the company’s LearnQuest initiative, for example, people pay to participate in programs that teach them how to develop apps, understand Apple products and get Apple-authorized certificates that demonstrate their proficiencies to employers. Amazon for its part started its Career Choice program in 2012. The program pre-pays for 95 percent of an employee’s tuition for certificate and associate’s degree programs in high-demand occupations, including those outside of Amazon, provided that the employee has been with the company for at least one year and that the cost does not exceed $12,000 over the course of four years. While these programs are not an explicit response to the change they’ve caused by the technologies they’ve created, they undoubtedly help people who are affected by technological innovation.

One way for these tech leaders to expand the support they offer to potentially displaced workers would be to fund education programs at postsecondary institutions. Robotics innovators, for example, could subsidize programs at colleges that help students learn how to repair and manage robots. After all, as Carolyn Heinrich, a professor of public policy, education, and economics at Vanderbilt University, pointed out, increasing numbers of jobs will require that such skills as robotics become more pervasive in the workplace.