New technologies have been creating and destroying jobs for millennia. In recent decades, automation has upended the way many people work, and now artificial intelligence threatens further upheaval. The impact of these trends is often described in headline job numbers. But what do they actually mean for the way we live our daily working lives? In a groundbreaking new book, prize-winning Financial Times journalist Sarah O’Connor sets out to investigate what is happening on the front lines of technological change. She finds people who aren’t losing their jobs to machines, but who feel they are losing something else instead. But she finds hopeful stories, too: of jobs being made better, safer and more enjoyable, and where workers haven’t rejected the new tools, but have instead been able to control them. These insights raise important questions for policy makers – the impact of new technologies is not pre-determined, and we can shape the positive change or damage they cause. The Resolution Foundation is hosting an event to mark the launch Sarah’s must-read new book. She will be joined by one of the UK’s leading technology experts Professor Cosmina Dorbantu, along with RF Chief Executive Ruth Curtice, to discuss the questions raised by Sarah’s book, including how the future of work can be shaped in a way that benefits working people. The event will be open for people to physically attend, alongside being broadcast via YouTube and the Resolution Foundation website. Viewers will be able to submit questions to the panel before and during the event via Slido.
