Jobs lost, jobs gained: workforce transitions in a time of automation

Automation is not a new phenomenon, and fears about its transformation of the workplace and effects on employment date back centuries, even before the Industrial Revolution in the 18th and 19th centuries. Rapid recent advances in automation technologies, including artificial intelligence, autonomous systems, and robotics are now raising the fears anew - and with new urgency. The January 2017 report on automation, 'A future that works: automation, employment, and productivity' [available in VOCEDplus at TD/TNC 127.353], analyzed the automation potential of the global economy, the...  [+] Show more

Automation is not a new phenomenon, and fears about its transformation of the workplace and effects on employment date back centuries, even before the Industrial Revolution in the 18th and 19th centuries. Rapid recent advances in automation technologies, including artificial intelligence, autonomous systems, and robotics are now raising the fears anew - and with new urgency. The January 2017 report on automation, 'A future that works: automation, employment, and productivity' [available in VOCEDplus at TD/TNC 127.353], analyzed the automation potential of the global economy, the timelines over which the phenomenon could play out, and the powerful productivity boost that automation adoption could deliver. This report goes a step further by examining both the potential labor market disruptions from automation and some potential sources of new labor demand that will create jobs. It includes scenarios that seek to address some of the questions most often raised in the public debate. Will there be enough work in the future to maintain full employment, and if so what will that work be? Which occupations will thrive, and which ones will wither? What are the potential implications for skills and wages as machines perform some or the tasks that humans now do?; Edited excerpt from publication.