Skills and Future of Work

As Robert D. Atkinson writes in National Review, the reality is that all AI applications that increase worker productivity are in the national interest, regardless of whether they complement or replace the worker.

Contrary to pessimists’ worst fears, the job dislocation impacts from AI are likely to be very manageable—and AI-based automation will be critical to boosting workers’ wages.

The United States needs to lead the world on the development and adoption of AI. If we can do that, in part through supportive policy and not restrictive regulations like the EU is introducing, U.S. workers will benefit significantly, especially if Congress makes the needed workforce and education policy changes.

Though not without its challenges, telework improves employee morale and aligns with worker preference, supports adaptability in service delivery, contributes to productivity, and helps recruit and retain critical talent.

A recent study found that there is a positive relationship between investment in automation and employment, and the relationship is even stronger for industries that experience greater competition from abroad.

AI-enabled automation is positively associated with changes in occupation employment shares in a sample of sixteen European countries.

Introducing immersive technologies into classrooms has the potential to make the U.S. education system more effective. But before these technologies are deployed in schools, the federal government should increase R&D investments in key areas that need further research.

In a recent working paper, authors found that engineers and other technical workers raise firm-level productivity by 4 to 5 percent more than otherwise expected without the employment of techies in a year.

A recent paper for the National Bureau of Economic Research found customer support agents using an AI tool to guide their conversations saw a nearly 14 percent increase in productivity.

The National Assessment of Educational Progress for the 2022-2023 school year reports a 4 point decline in 13-year-old students’ reading abilities and a 9 point drop in math scores, the largest decline seen in half a century.