Could AI lead to more jobs?

 

According to MIT's David Autor, a top labor economist, AI could be used to rebuild the middle class by creating new job opportunities for those who have been left behind by the economy in recent decades. Autor suggests that with the right policies, AI could make a wider range of workers much better at a range of jobs, lowering barriers to entry and creating new opportunities. This could lead to a more prosperous and equal economy.

Autor's research shows that computers have been great for the jobs of high-income, college-educated workers but not so great for everyone else, which has created job polarization. Computers have killed a range of jobs in manufacturing and offices that once provided solid opportunities to Americans without a college degree. However, new empirical evidence suggests that the age of AI could be different.

Autor is hopeful that AI could assist less-skilled and non-college-educated workers, providing them with a significant boost. The right policies and assistance could prepare Americans for success in the new AI economy, creating more opportunities and lowering barriers to entry for more people.

The Industrial Revolution shows that technology was not always a force for greater inequality. Technology once provided a significant boost for creating and expanding the middle class. Skilled artisans were the masters of production, but the age of machines and factories obliterated their livelihoods. Machine-enabled factory jobs that replaced artisanal work paid less.

During the industrial era, technology was a force for equality. It created a demand for valuable work that a wide spectrum of society could do, which grew the middle class. Middle-skill jobs were commonly found in places like factory floors or in offices. These jobs required workers to know how to read, do basic math and possess other skills, but they didn't need the type of elite skills typically acquired through years of education.

However, during the age of the personal computer, technology proved to be unlike the industrial era that preceded it. Computers have been great for the jobs of high-income, college-educated workers but not so great for everyone else, which has created job polarization. Computers have killed a range of jobs in manufacturing and offices that once provided solid opportunities to Americans without a college degree.

With the right policies, AI could be used to create good jobs for a wide range of Americans, just as technologies like electricity, plumbing, conveyor belts, manufactured gadgets, gizmos, and machines created good jobs for a wide range of Americans in the past. In the future, AI could make it easier for people to obtain the skills they need to succeed in the new economy.

AI could be used to create jobs in a range of industries, such as healthcare, education, and infrastructure. For example, AI could be used to create jobs in healthcare by providing patient care and reducing healthcare costs. AI could be used to create jobs in education by providing personalized learning for students. AI could be used to create jobs in infrastructure by helping to build and maintain smart cities.

The rise of smart machines opens up some scary possibilities for our economy, democracy, and even our continued existence as a species. But, if we get our act together, the age of AI could be one in which we rebuild the middle class.

The age of AI could lead to the reinstatement of the middle class, and it could be a rallying cry for this new technological era. In the industrial era, technology was a force for equality, creating a demand for a valuable kind of work that a wide spectrum of society could do. The middle class grew, and many Americans, even those without college degrees, found good jobs doing middle-skill work. These were jobs that required workers to know how to read, do basic math, and possess other skills, but they didn't need the type of elite skills typically acquired through years of education. Workers doing middle-skill jobs usually followed formal instructions and were commonly found in places like factory floors or in offices, doing bookkeeping, compiling paper records, and calling suppliers and clients on the telephone.

AI could create a similar demand for a new kind of work that could make very productive use of people who have only a high school education. With the right policies, we could prepare and assist Americans to succeed in this new AI economy, creating a wider array of jobs and providing more opportunities for everyone. While AI will profoundly disrupt the job market, the potential benefits are significant. We have an opportunity to harness the power of AI to create good jobs for people who have been left behind over the last few decades, and it could be a force for rebuilding the middle class, leading to a more prosperous and more equal economy.