Daniel Susskind, an expert in AI and labor, discusses the impact of AI on professions like law and medicine, the challenges and opportunities of a world with less work, the role of labor leaders and unions in technology, and choosing a career path in the era of AI.
AI is transforming professions like law and medicine by automating routine tasks and requiring different skills for designing AI systems compared to traditional professions.
Adapting to a changing work landscape requires addressing economic and meaning-related concerns to ensure people can flourish in a world with less traditional work.
Deep dives
Impact of AI on Professions and Work
AI is transforming professions such as law and medicine by automating routine tasks and even some non-routine tasks. For example, an AI system developed by researchers at Stanford accurately diagnoses skin cancer, which highlights the different skills required for designing such systems compared to traditional doctors. While the demand for legal advice and medical insight has increased, the nature of work has changed. The challenge lies in adapting to a world where work is transformed, but still necessary.
The Gradual Problem of AI and Work
The fear of widespread job loss due to AI is unlikely to materialize suddenly. However, over time, more people may find it difficult to make meaningful contributions to society as technology replaces or disrupts their occupations. Even a relatively small percentage of people struggling to find work poses a substantial societal challenge. Adapting to a changing work landscape requires addressing economic and meaning-related concerns to ensure people can flourish in a world with less traditional work.
AI's Impact on Global Work Markets
The influence of AI on work markets is uncertain, especially in developing countries with large low-skilled workforces. While such economies may be suitable for automation, low labor costs often make machines prohibitively expensive. However, as economies develop and labor costs rise, there may be an increasing incentive to develop technologies that replace expensive labor. The interplay between technological advances and labor markets necessitates attention to economic incentives to strike a balance between complementing and replacing human workers.
There’s no question that Artificial Intelligence will increase productivity- but at what cost? What happens when systems out-perform not only factory workers but society’s most esteemed professions? Daniel Susskind has written two thought-provoking books on how AI is changing the nature of work and what tomorrow’s labor market will look like. Susskind is a research professor at King's College London and a senior research associate at the Institute for Ethics in AI at Oxford University. In this podcast, Susskind speaks with journalist Rhoda Metcalfe about how encouraging technologies that complement rather than substitute human work would place fewer livelihoods at risk.