David Autor on AI’s impact on jobs, expertise, and labor markets

What if AI helped people develop and deepen their existing expertise, and better outfitted them for the jobs of the future? This week, Reid and Aria are joined by one of the world’s leading labor economists, David Autor, Ford Professor of Economics at MIT and co-director of its Work of the Future Task Force. He is also a Visiting Fellow in the Google Technology and Society Program. David’s landmark research on the China Shock has become foundational for policymakers grappling with globalization’s labor impacts. Reid, Aria, and David discuss the parallels between China Shock and AI Shock, the labor market, how AI can help us make better decisions, automation vs. collaboration, and AI’s potential to enhance human-centered jobs.

For more info on the podcast and transcripts of all the episodes, visit possible.fm/podcast

Topics:

2:27 - Hellos and intros

4:30 - China Shock vs. AI Shock

10:56 - How AI could affect skill-based labor

15:37 - Google Gemini aside: more about the air traffic controller shortage

16:31 - How technologies can be amplifiers of expertise

22:09 - AI as a collaboration tool

24:52 - Why speed of labor market change makes a difference

29:25 - How AI can be good for the middle class

31:04 - Learning to use AI to your advantage

34:27 - More upward mobility at work

41:39 - Technology increasing quality of life

47:34 - Tools to put in place to ensure improvements for all

50:29 - Successfully transitioning to a new AI future

56:51 - Rapid-fire questions

Select mentions:

Geoffrey Hinton (cs.toronto.edu/~hinton)

WALL-E (imdb.com/title/tt0910970)

Mad Max: Fury Road (imdb.com/title/tt1392190)

NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert Series (npr.org/series/tiny-desk-concerts)

Possible is an award-winning podcast that sketches out the brightest version of the future—and what it will take to get there. Most of all, it asks: what if, in the future, everything breaks humanity's way? Tune in for grounded and speculative takes on how technology—and, in particular, AI—is inspiring change and transforming the future. Hosted by Reid Hoffman and Aria Finger, each episode features an interview with an ambitious builder or deep thinker on a topic, from art to geopolitics and from healthcare to education. These conversations also showcase another kind of guest: AI. Each episode seeks to enhance and advance our discussion about what humanity could possibly get right if we leverage technology—and our collective effort—effectively.