In a draft paper he co-authored in October, Frey linked automation anxiety and Trump’s 2016 election: Support for Trump was greater in areas of relatively high adoption of robots. And lower adoption would have swung Michigan, Pennsylvania or Wisconsin to Hillary Clinton.

In a study by Pew Research last May, 72% of those surveyed said they were worried about automation.

Andrew Yang, a New York technologist, has predicated his presidential candidacy on ringing the alarm about AI and robots.

What resistance may look like: In the Industrial Age, Frey said, people rioted against automation. This time will be different, he said. “Now people have political rights and can vote against automation,” he said.