Forbes contributor Adi Gaskell writes that a new study by MIT researchers finds increased investment in robotics and automation-based technologies as populations age. Gaskell notes that: “the data shows a strong relationship between the age of the workforce, which was defined as the ratio of workers aged over 56 and those aged between 21 and 55, and the adoption of robotics in 60 different countries.”
Prof. David Autor joins On Point to discuss the economic and social crisis facing American men. “It matters because we care about the welfare of all individuals,” says Autor. “It affects the people they would partner with, their potential spouses. It affects their children. It affects the level of crime incarceration. It affects the tax base. it affects our ability to grow and innovate in all kinds of ways. We're all kind of in this together.”
New York Times columnist Thomas B. Edsall spotlights Prof. David Autor’s research exploring the state of men in the U.S., including the growing gender gaps in educational attainment and the labor market.
In an article for Fortune, Prof. Amy Glasmeier and Alison Omens of JUST Capital underscore the importance of paying workers a living wage. “Those companies that will thrive in both the current and post-pandemic economy will be those that prioritize their workers—not just in their rhetoric but in paying them a living wage,” they write.
Writing for The New York Times, Prof. David Autor explores how the current labor shortage provides an opportunity to improve the quality of jobs in the U.S. “The period of labor scarcity, then, is an opportunity to catalyze better working conditions for those who need them most,” writes Autor.
Prof. David Autor speaks with Kara Miller of GBH’s Innovation Hub about the impact of Covid-19 on the future of work.
Prof. Daron Acemoglu makes the case in a piece for The Washington Post that there should be oversight of how AI is applied, arguing that current AI technologies are already having tangible impacts on the labor market, the criminal justice system and on democratic discourse and politics. “Will AI be allowed to work increasingly to displace and monitor humans, or steered toward complementing and augmenting human capabilities,” Acemoglu writes, “creating new opportunities for workers?”
Prof. Esther Duflo speaks with Mikaela Cohen of CNBC about how gender inequality, access to childcare and vaccine access are among the issues impacting the return to work in the U.S. and the global economic recovery. “We realized the current system is just not very workable. It just barely works,” says Duflo. “Women sustain themselves by pulling on their own boot straps.”
A new working paper by MIT researchers finds that automation is replacing more workers than outsourcing, reports Scott Tong for Marketplace. Prof. Daron Acemoglu notes that workers displaced by machines won’t be able to find better quality jobs unless “we invest in new technologies that create new tasks and new opportunities for workers.”
Writing for The Boston Globe, Sloan Prof. Erin Kelly and University of Minnesota Prof. Phyllis Moen explore how to create an effect hybrid workplace. “Our hope is that after this past year’s normalization of remote work, more organizations will stop rewarding face time in favor of a future where a variety of work patterns are recognized as productive and welcome,” they write.
Prof. Thomas Kochan speaks with Reuters reporter Timothy Appell about how the decision to support a union campaign can often become a risk assessment for employees. When it comes to individual campaigns in a workplace, “the reality sets in - when the employer campaigns so hard that you think you’re putting your job at risk,” says Kochan.
In an article for Politico, Professor of the practice Zeynep Ton explores how pay disclosures could help shed led on whether workers are earning enough money to support their families. “Building an economy founded on good jobs will require deep, structural transformation, but you can only manage change if you measure," writes Ton and her co-author Katie Bach. “The best way to spur movement towards creating good jobs may be to start requiring that companies publish take-home pay data.”
Writing for Issues in Science and Technology, Sanjay Sarma, vice president for Open Learning, and William Bonvillian, senior director of special projects for Open Learning, underscore the need to improve workforce education. “The workforce disruption from the pandemic could be a driver that forces further action,” they write. “A more equitable and innovative future is possible, provided we leave our previously scattershot approaches behind.”
Profs. Daron Acemoglu and David Autor speak with New York Times columnist Kevin Roose about the impact of automation on the labor market. “A lot of professional work combines some element of routine information processing with an element of judgment and discretion,” says Autor. “That’s where software has always fallen short. But with A.I., that type of work is much more in the kill path.”
Axios reporter Erica Pandey spotlights Prof. Thomas Kochan’s research that finds interest in unions has been steadily rising among workers. Kochan found that “the share of non-union U.S. workers who would vote to join one jumped from 32% in 1995 to 48% in 2017.”