Interview, Fireside Chat, Conference Presentation
Daniel Susskind, Author of "A World Without Work"
- Economic contributions may be harder to achieve in the 21st century due to technological changes, while inequality and social challenges are expected to intensify immediately.
- Technological progress is projected to solve the fundamental issue of generating sufficient global prosperity, with GDP per head potentially reaching $22,000 in 30 to 35 years and doubling again in the subsequent 30 to 35 years.
- Current remote work trends may not constitute a radical transformation for white-collar workers, and many individuals in non-remote sectors will likely continue to struggle to find employment.
- The state is expected to assume a larger role in distribution, a shift anticipated to persist beyond the immediate crisis, potentially making Universal Basic Income a more feasible response to worklessness.
- Broad monetary stimulus and fiscal infrastructure projects may fail to effectively support millions of self-employed workers and small businesses, while the legacy of austerity debates is likely to become inapplicable.
- Future economic shifts will reframe the focus from the future of work to the future of leisure, prompting a need for public dialogue on "gainful unemployment" and societal purposes.
- Young entrants to the workforce are expected to need either interpersonal, creative, or empathetic skills to compete with automation, or technical capabilities to build and operate systems.
- Education systems currently risk training youth for routine tasks vulnerable to automation rather than developing the specific capabilities needed to compete with or construct technological systems.
- While certain tasks involving human empathy and creativity may remain largely outside the reach of automation, this area has already faced challenges from technological advances.
- Although some proposals previously viewed as idealistic are now being implemented globally during the crisis, the certainty of a radical technological transformation remains unconfirmed regarding current employment models.