A Nobel winning economist warned that fear of automation causing mass unemployment could itself cause mass unemployment by tanking consumer sentiment. He notes this may be a significant long ignored contributing factor in Great Depression.
History of pessimism largely unwritten!
"We Have to Stop Freaking Out About A.I." warns Nobel laureate Robert Shiller. Depressions, formerly called panics, are caused by self-fulfilling fears (the only thing we have to fear is fear itself), i.e., common knowledge about those very fears.