Abstract for:Autonomy and the Future of Work

Estimates predict that AI and autonomy will touch 1.1 billion employees and $15.8 trillion in wages of current labor pool in global economy by 2030. Key questions at the microeconomic level are:  How will autonomy transform the workplace? What will be the implications for employment?  At the macroeconomic level, key questions are: What is likely to be the impact of AI and autonomy  on productivity and employment in the global economy? What are timeframes of adoption and to what do they need to be compared for assessing impact on global stability? How might adaptive factors (transition of workers; regulatory policies, new skills training) differ between countries and geographic areas to determine whether or not there is massive migration/unemployment? Critical system dynamics that must be considered to answer these questions include: How economic benefits of autonomy compensate for lost productivity and economic growth in with aging work forces; economic gap closures or exacerbations; shifts in employment sectors;  heterogeneous adoption rates; reconfiguration of supply chains; institutional/structural changes; new business developments; equitabile distribution of gains. Preliminary models are being tested to pilot models that examine dynamics at the microeconomic level by assessing impact on workforce and effect on economies, and at the macroeconomic level as a revolutionary disruption to society.