How to prepare for an economy of robots & AI, and an aging population – WMUR Manchester

How to prepare for an economy of robots & AI, and an aging population

Updated: 7:24 AM EST Feb 16, 2020

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>> WELCOME TO NEW HAMPSHIRE'S BUSINESS, I'M FRED KOCUR. WORK OF THE FUTURE. LET'S GO TO THE GRAPHIC AND I'LL SHOW YOU WHAT I MEAN. IN 2018, THE PEW RESEARCH CENTER FOUND BETWEEN 65 AND 90% OF THOSE SURVEYED IN ADVANCED ECONOMIES BELIEVE THAT ROBOTS AND COMPUTERS WILL PROBABLY OR DEFINITELY TAKE OVER MANY JOBS NOW DONE BY HUMANS AND THIS IS A SUBJECT THAT IS NOW THE PROCESS, IN THE PROCESS OF BEING LOOKED AT BY A TASK FORCE AT MIT AND THE HEAD OF THAT TASK FORCE IS WITH ME AS MY GUEST. ELIZABETH REYNOLDS THE TASK FORCE ON WORK OF THE FUTURE. NICE TO HAVE YOU HERE. >> WONDERFUL. >> WHAT IS THE THING THAT BROUGHT THIS TASK FORCE ABOUT? >> WELL, THERE'S A LOT OF ANXIETY AND UNCERTAINTY ABOUT THE FUTURE OF WORK BECAUSE OF NEW TECHNOLOGIES THAT HAVE COME ONLINE, AI, ROBOTICS, ET CETERA. SO THE FAST FORCE IS LOOKING AT THE CHANGING NATURE OF WORK, SKILLS REQUIRED TO BE SUCCESSFUL AND WHAT DO WE NEED TO DO TO ENSURE SHARED PROSPERITY GOING FORWARD. >> TWO OF THE VARIABLES ARE ON THE GRAPH. LET'S GO TO THE FIRST ONE. THIS GRAPH, LOOK AT THE LINES, THE WORKING AGE SHARE OF THE U.S. POPULATION IS CONTRACTING AND GOING DOWN. WHAT ARE WE LOOKING AT? >> RIGHT, BASICALLY WE'RE LOOKING AT WHAT HAPPENED TO OUR WORKING AGE POPULATION FROM 1980 TO PROJECTED 24. AT THE TOP LINE USED TO HAVE A HIGHER SHARE OF WORKING AGE POPULATION AND LOWER SHARE OF SENIORS, ADULT POPULATION, AND NOW, THE RED LINE IS WHERE WE'RE GOING TO BE IN A FEW DECADES AND THAT'S WHERE IT'S A BIT CONCERNING, WE'RE ESSENTIALLY INCREASING OUR RETIRED AGE OF THE POPULATION, DECREASING OUR WORKING AGE POPULATION AND WHAT WE SEE GOING FORWARD IS REALLY A SCARCITY OF WORKERS, NOT AN ABUNDANCE OF JOBS. >> YEAH, YEAH, AND THAT'S CONCERNING. WE'RE ALREADY SEEING THE BEGINNINGS OF THAT WITH BUSINESSES LOOKING FOR EMPLOYEES RIGHT ACROSS THE BOARD. NOW, LET'S GO TO THE NEXT GRAPHIC AND THIS ONE IS THE CHANGE IN LABOR PRODUCTIVITY AND COMPENSATION BETWEEN 1948 AND 2018 AND THAT TOP LINE AND THE MIDDLE LINE, WHAT ARE WE LOOKING AT? >> THE TOP LINES SHOW US THAT ESSENTIALLY SINCE 1980, WE'VE HAD THIS DIVERGENCE BETWEEN GROWING PRODUCTIVITY AND THE TWO BOTTOM LINES, MEDIAN WORKER COMPENSATION AND REALLY, WHAT WORKERS WHO AREN'T FOUR-YEAR EDUCATED, WHO AREN'T IN A SUPERVISORY ROLE AND THAT'S WHERE WE SEE THE STAGNATION OF WAGES ACROSS THE BOARD. IF YOU'RE AN AVERAGE WORKER, THAT TOP LINE IS TRACKING PRODUCTIVITY, BUT THE AVERAGE IS INCLUDING HIGHER EDUCATED WORKERS. OUR LOWER AND MODERATE EDUCATED WORKERS HAVE REALLY BEEN SUFFERING FROM STAGNANT WAGES FOR 40 YEARS. >> HAS YOUR TASK FORCE DECIDED WHAT WE NEED TO DO ABOUT THIS? >> WELL, WE CERTAINLY HAVE SUGGESTIONS. NO QUESTION, EVERYBODY IS FOCUSED ON WORK FORCE SKILLS AND TRAINING, WHAT WE NEED FOR EDUCATION AND PARTICULARLY THOSE WHO ARE MOST VULNERABLE, WHICH IS FROM HIGH SCHOOL TO SAY TWO YEAR DEGREES AND SO WE'RE VERY FOCUSED HOW DO WE TRAIN FOR THOSE JOBS, MEDIAN WORKERS AND WE THINK THERE'S A LOT FOR INVESTMENT. R AND D TAX CREDITS AND OTHER WAYS. WE NEED TO DO MORE FOR INVESTING IN HUMANS AND BUILDING OUR OWN CAPABILITIES. >> AND THE TECHNOLOGY IS REPLACING JOBS, TECHNOLOGY IS ALSO CREATING JOBS SO THE CHALLENGE, I ASSUME, IS HOW TO DRAIN PEOPLE FOR THOSE JOBS. >> THAT'S RIGHT, IT'S ALWAYS DONE THAT. WE'VE HAD BOTH OF THOSE. IT DOES OBVIOUSLY GET RID OF JOBS, BUT CREATES NEW JOBS. AND THE CHALLENGE FOR US IS NOT GOING TO BE WILL WE HAVE ENOUGH JOBS, THE CHALLENGE IS GOING TO BE, WHAT'S THE QUALITY OF THE JOBS.

How to prepare for an economy of robots & AI, and an aging population

Updated: 7:24 AM EST Feb 16, 2020

Fred Kocher and Elisabeth Reynolds speak about preparing for an economy of robots, AI, and an aging population.

Fred Kocher and Elisabeth Reynolds speak about preparing for an economy of robots, AI, and an aging population.

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How to prepare for an economy of robots & AI, and an aging population - WMUR Manchester