Discussions on Social Impact of Automation are active in IFAC for more than three decades. The paper presents the main issues from past research and development in the area, indicates most likely trends and puts forward some basic premises for further development. The authors argue that it is necessary now to revisit the social impact of automation, in order to become ready for new challenges. They propose essentially two things: first, to look at the social impact of automation from a wider perspective, and second, to increase the intensity of working on these issues in the future.