The document discusses the history and impacts of automation. It notes that from early civilization, humans invented tools to perform tasks more effectively. Automation in the 19th-20th centuries freed humans and animals from physically demanding labor. Automation changed lifestyles by permitting more leisure time, improved lifestyles by enhancing tasks like farming, and sped up operations through technologies like the typewriter and computer. Overall, the document argues that engineering innovation and automation have enabled humans to live more comfortably over centuries.