MIT Report: The Work of the Future
“Decades of technological change have polarized the earnings of the American workforce, helping highly educated white-collar workers thrive, while hollowing out the middle class. Yet present-day advances like robots and artificial intelligence do not spell doom for middle-tier or lower-wage workers, since innovations create jobs as well. With better policies in place, more people could enjoy good careers even as new technology transforms workplaces.”
“As technology takes jobs away, it provides new opportunities; about 63 percent of jobs performed in 2018 did not exist in 1940. Rather than a robot revolution in the workplace, we are witnessing a gradual tech evolution. At issue is how to improve the quality of jobs, particularly for middle- and lower-wage workers, and ensure there is greater shared prosperity than the U.S. has seen in recent decades.”
Major Conclusions
1. “Technological change is simultaneously replacing existing work and creating new work. It is not eliminating work altogether.”
2. “Momentous impacts of technological change are unfolding gradually.”
3. “Rising labor productivity has not translated into broad increases in incomes because societal institutions and labor market policies have fallen into disrepair.”
4. “Improving the quality of jobs requires innovation in labor market institutions.”
5. “Fostering opportunity and economic mobility necessitates cultivating and refreshing worker skills.”
6. “Investing in innovation will drive new job creation, speed growth, and meet rising competitive challenges.”
MIT News, November 17, 2020: “Report outlines route toward better jobs, wider prosperity,” by Peter Dizikes (links in article broken use link below for report)
MIT, 2020: The Work of the Future: Building Better Jobs in an Age of Intelligent Machines (100 pages, PDF)
Click here to learn more about this year’s AI and Work of the Future Congress hosted virtually by MIT.
