The Future of Work Book Summary

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Brief Summary

In The Future of Work: Robots, AI and Automation, Darrell M. West reveals changes to employment and the economy resulting from the new era of technology. Through artificial intelligence and robotics, automation is significantly replacing the work of humans while not generating nearly as many jobs as it is taking. West explores the impact this will have on politics, education and how society defines employment in the future.

About the Author

Darrell M. West is the Vice President and Director of Governance Studies and Director of the Center for Technology Innovation at the Brookings Institution. He is an author, political scientist and political commentator.

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Key Insights

Darrell M. West has done extensive research into how automation and robotics will shape the future outlook on the economy. In The Future of Work: Robots, AI and Automation, West addresses the effects on both employment and society in general. An estimated 65% of children today will be doing jobs that don’t yet exist and jobs overall will be diminishing as automation replaces the human workforce. The importance of government to anticipate and address these impending challenges is vital.

Artificial Intelligence is Impacting Society

The significant effects of artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics on employment and the economy are only beginning to surface, but the future brought on by automation is both exciting and alarming.

It is thrilling to see all the ways life can be improved by technology. AI can augment human capability by maximizing decision-making capabilities as well as operational capacities with complex algorithms. Such activities as finance, transportation, defense, and even space exploration are all enhanced by the possibilities created with AI. Technology can process huge amounts of data to rapidly-produce solutions to multifaceted problems.

AI enhances public safety with such technology as body cameras on police officers. It can oversee the safety of water supplies with the ability to detect dangerous chemicals. Traffic congestion can be reduced as well as pollution through ever-improving technology.

At the same time, it is disturbing to recognize how the Internet of Things (IoT) infringes on personal privacy, as most devices don’t have high levels of protection. Critics point out that virtual reality headsets collect a massive amount of information such as head movements, eye rolls, facial expressions, and other data that can create a “heatmap” of a person’s behavior and emotion. Such data is highly personal and experts warn that its use should be controlled, as one example of the intimate data that is being collected which threatens privacy.

Employment is being Dangerously Disrupted by Technology

In addition to threats to personal privacy, it is equally if not more upsetting to see how quickly AI and robotics are replacing the work of human beings. The replacement employment generated by technology is not equal to the number of jobs that have been taken over. Industrialized society is on the threshold of a world with much less work.

Cornell University engineer Hod Lipson commented, “For a long time the common understanding was that technology was destroying jobs but also creating new and better ones. Now the evidence is that technology is destroying jobs and indeed creating new and better ones, but also fewer ones.” Because of the recession in 2008-09, many companies downsized their employees for budget reasons. After learning to operate on lighter workforces, especially using automation, those jobs were not brought back at the same numbers.

Businesses no longer need large workforces to perform essential tasks. Today, companies can function well with smaller staff as well as reliance on independent contractors or even outsourcing certain tasks to other countries for much less expense. We are reaching a state where the number of U.S.-based full-time jobs is small, which...