Conference Presentation, Panel
Women Leaders’ Summit: Workforce of the Future: Leading a Reinvention
Milken InstituteTim Dattels, Lim Hwee Hua, Michael Milken, Noni Purnomo, Keiko Tashiro, Sophia, Mike Milken
- AI and robotics are expected to increasingly dominate the global economy and human labor markets, with predictions that Singapore's workforce will decline dramatically over the next couple of decades absent immigration changes, while up to 85% of textile jobs in Vietnam could be displaced by robots.
- Demographic shifts forecast that within 100 years, Africa's population will equal Asia's and Nigeria's will exceed China's, driving a "youth bulge" that contrasts with aging populations in Japan and Singapore, where the definition of "long-term" planning has shortened to two to three years.
- Technological disruption is predicted to disproportionately eliminate male-dominated manual roles, evidenced by one in five US male workers having already dropped out of the workforce, though social sector jobs are projected to be the only US sector increasing at the highest rate.
- Organizations in Japan and Singapore are implementing immediate policies to retain workers caring for elderly parents and encouraging female workforce participation through flexi-arrangements and removing barriers, as current demographics fail to supply sufficient labor for the services industry.
- The global marketplace is facing a "speed of change" where companies like Bluebird are unlearning legacy business models to integrate with automation, while China is expected to lead robotic innovation within 10 years or sooner, and Singapore anticipates a workforce contribution increase if psychological and structural barriers are removed.
- Future economic outcomes are described as existing between utopia and dystopia, with a shift toward meritocratic systems where ability and education outweigh seniority, potentially favoring the Asian middle class and requiring significant reinvestment in personal growth and compassion.
- Social structures and gender roles are expected to transform due to technology, including a projected "emancipation of women" via remote work and home-based entrepreneurship, a trend where the US is deemed unprepared, alongside changes in household economics driven by food delivery and smaller kitchens.
- Significant regional differences in expenditure and aspiration are noted, with 85% of middle-class spending in 11 Asian countries directed toward food and supplemental education, and high aspirations for higher education in India, contrasting with only 2% of US mental class expenditures on education.
- While the long-term vision includes humans merging with superhuman AIs and a unified AI mind cloud, immediate corporate strategy involves coordinating global AI and blockchain projects like SingularityNet to manage the inevitable disruption rather than attempting to halt it.
- Risks to the future economy include the potential destruction of the Japanese economy if robots do not fill labor gaps in aging societies, the challenge of maintaining wage levels in service sectors despite high demand, and the uncertainty of whether current birth rates in Nigeria will sustain projected population growth.