Hacker News Reader

Word processors somewhat help replace the typing pool. Not to mention the affect that have had on the printing/typesetting industry. Image manipulation software allows a single person to produce far more work that hundreds of people working by hand. This is the exact purpose of software: to make people more efficient and powerful in their tasks.

View on HN

In general, "office automation" software (as it was once often called) combined with, over time, email, self-service travel sites, and associated changing expectations has largely eliminated whole classes of jobs. I never had a personal secretary/admin but I've had ones who handled a group of 5-10 people. And even mid-level execs had personal admins when I was starting out.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com