Machines have been displacing jobs since the start of the Industrial Revolution. The term 'Luddite' came from "the group of English textile workers and self-employed weavers in the 19th century that used the destruction of machinery as a form of protest".

The only difference is that as machines have become more complex and capable, they have started displacing more skilled jobs, and now knowledge economy jobs. The uproar now is because it's middle class jobs under threat, not just working class jobs, and the middle class have the time, money and contacts to lobby against these changes.