New book builds on findings from the multiyear MIT Task Force on the Work of the Future
The MIT Press
image: Cover art to “The Work of the Future” view more
Credit: The MIT PRESS
“For too long, American workers have been left behind. Business leaders have a responsibility to their workers to understand the challenges and opportunities associated with building better jobs. This book, based on leading research and real-world insights, provides actionable recommendations to make technology work for, and not against, most workers.”
—Indra Nooyi, former Chairman and CEO, PepsiCo
For Immediate Release
Cambridge, MA, January 25th, 2022— Why the United States lags behind other industrialized countries in sharing the benefits of innovation with workers and how we can remedy the problem.
The United States has too many low-quality, low-wage jobs. Every country has its share, but those in the United States are especially poorly paid and often without benefits. Meanwhile, overall productivity increases steadily and new technology has transformed large parts of the economy, enhancing the skills and paychecks of higher-paid knowledge workers. What’s wrong with this picture? Why have so many workers benefited so little from decades of growth? The Work of the Future: Building Better Jobs in an Age of Intelligent Machines (on sale 1/25/22 from the MIT PRESS) by David Autor, David A. Mindell, and Elisabeth Reynolds shows that technology is neither the problem nor the solution. We can build better jobs if we create institutions that leverage technological innovation and also support workers though long cycles of technological transformation.
Building on findings from the multiyear MIT Task Force on the Work of the Future, the book argues that we must foster institutional innovations that complement technological change. Skills programs that emphasize work-based and hybrid learning (in person and online), for example, empower workers to become and remain productive in a continuously evolving workplace. Industries fueled by new technology that augments workers can supply good jobs, and federal investment in R&D can help make these industries worker-friendly. We must act to ensure that the labor market of the future offers benefits, opportunity, and a measure of economic security to all.
About the Authors:
David Autor is Ford Professor in the MIT Department of Economics. David A. Mindell is Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics and Dibner Professor of the History of Engineering and Manufacturing at MIT and founder and CEO of Humatics Corporation. Autor and David A. Mindell were Cochairs of the MIT Task Force on the Work of the Future. Elisabeth Reynolds is Special Assistant to the President for Manufacturing and Economic Development on the National Economic Council and was Executive Director of the MIT Task Force on the Work of the Future.
Advance Praise:
“Emerging technologies like AI hold amazing potential for transforming our society and economy, but as this book illustrates, they must be coupled with innovations in labor market practices to succeed. The expert authors of The Work of the Future provide tomorrow’s leaders with crucial insights to develop a creative vision for the future—and ensure technology drives opportunity in the years to come.”
—Eric Schmidt, Cofounder, Schmidt Futures; former CEO and Chairman, Google
The Work of the Future by David Autor, David A. Mindell, and Elisabeth Reynolds
$29.95 T
ISBN: 9780262046367
192 pp. | 6 in x 9 in
Publication Date: January 25th, 2022
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