AI Won’t Decide the Future of Work—We Will (with David Autor)

About this episode

David Autor discusses how AI could reshape labor markets and the future of work, emphasizing that technology's impact depends on the rules we create around it.

Every wave of new technology has come with the same promise: productivity rises, and everyone benefits. That’s not how it usually plays out. This week, we’re resharing our conversation with MIT economist David Autor, one of the world’s leading experts on how technological change reshapes labor markets. Autor challenges the familiar story that innovation inevitably destroys good jobs, arguing instead that AI could expand human expertise and help rebuild pathways into the middle class — if the gains are broadly shared. As companies race to adopt AI and workers wonder what comes next, this episode offers a clearer way to think about the future of work: technology doesn’t determine economic outcomes. The rules we build around it do. David Autor is a labor economist and professor of economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who studies how technological change and globalization affect workers. He is also co-director of the MIT Shaping the Future of Work Initiative and the National Bureau of Economic Research Labor Studies Program. Social Media: @davidautor.bsky.social @davidautor Further reading: NOEMA - AI Could Actually Help Rebuild The Middle Class New York Times - How…

People in this episode

Host: Nick Hanauer

Guest: David Autor

Topics covered

• AI
• future of work
• labor markets
• technological change
• middle class
• economic outcomes

Keywords

• AI
• labor economics
• productivity
• job creation
• technological innovation
• middle class
• economic policy

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, National Bureau of Economic Research, MIT Shaping the Future of Work Initiative

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