Remote work, technology, and climate change are all set to transform the labor market. Here's how
The researchers found that when a new tool can perform a task in place of a worker, all affected workers suffer.
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The past five years have witnessed immense changes in our working lives, with the Covid-19 pandemic ushering in a new era of remote work and generative AI sitting poised to transform the labor market.
So, what will these changes mean for the workers of tomorrow? Of course, no one has a crystal ball—but here are a few predictions, based on research by Kellogg faculty members.
Many of us are anxiously wondering whether and how much AI will change our jobs. And while the precise effects are difficult to predict, we can take lessons from the technological changes of the past.
Recent research by Dimitris Papanikolaou and Bryan Seegmiller (a professor and assistant professor of finance, respectively) examined how major innovations introduced between 1981 and 2016 affected workers and their earnings.
Papanikolaou, Seegmiller, and their colleagues focused on so-called breakthrough patents—those that were very different from previous patents but very influential on future patents. They were also careful to distinguish between tools that replace workers and those that complement workers.
[This article has been republished, with permission, from Kellogg Insight, the faculty research & ideas magazine of Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University]