Artificial Intelligence and Work of the Future Report

The Future Professional Initiative is pleased to announce a report on artificial intelligence and work of the future. This report makes a qualitative prediction of AI’s impact on professional work, assuming society will move towards full adoption of the technology. Based on persisting and emerging societal needs, we classify work, both existing and to be created, into six work functions. They are Innovation, Technology Infrastructure, Technology-Human Interpretation, Technology Implementation, Human Implementation, and Humanitarian Service. Occupations and roles in the future will consist of one or more of these work functions.

We adopt a theoretical framework that examines the interplay of market, government, and community, and how they collectively shape the transition into full adoption of AI. This approach avoids overemphasizing the role of the market and fatalism about AI adoption’s inherently negative impact on work. Instead, our predictions depict a future of disruption but also opportunities and hope, where professionals can take collective political action to shape the future of our society.

We predict society will have medium-to-high needs for most work functions. But one work function – Technology Implementation – is most susceptible to AI-driven automation. Solving well-defined problems with verifiable results for quality control is part of most professional work. So, its automation will almost certainly cause widespread disruption to the professional workforce.

However, disruption does not necessarily mean lasting high under- or un-employment. The societal need for most of the other work functions is likely to enjoy steady growth. It’s unclear to what extent can the societal need be translated into labor market demand with sufficient remuneration to make up for the displaced work opportunities. But two particularly promising areas of job creation are Human Implementation and Humanitarian Service. If government and market spending can be redirected to create jobs in these functions, the woes of labor force restructuring will likely be effectively eased.

We hope this report will invite more professionals, parents, students, funders, and policymakers to join the conversation. Everyone will be needed to explore how we can create a sustainable future with technology. You can read the rest of the report by clicking the button below.

Looking forward to seeing what the future holds.