MIT report identifies strategies to align new technologies with durable careers

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) released a report on the future of work titled ‘The Work of the Future: Building Better Jobs in an Age of Intelligent Machines’. The report was jointly developed by MIT professors, researchers, an advisory board of corporate executives, government officials, and labour leaders. It presents labour market analysis, policy suggestions for changes in training programs, and tax policies, among other initiatives. The report revealed that two-thirds of American workers have seen their salaries decline up to 20% since the 1980s. The reason for this decrease in income is not related to technology but to public policies. The report also pointed out that robots and AI will not drastically and suddenly create an economy without jobs in the USA. The researchers concluded that industrialised countries will have more job openings than skilled workers trained to supply it. Moreover, the report stressed that robots do not have the flexibility human workers have. A robot can adapt to a certain chore but only that one, given they learn from data and repetition. Another obstacle to fast and widespread adoption of robots in several sectors is related to cost and operational expertise.