Managing automation: Employment, inequality and ethics in the digital age

Article

As machines become increasingly capable of performing tasks once thought to be the sole preserve of people, some commentators have raised the spectre of mass unemployment and profound economic disruption.

Yet despite the growing capability of robots and artificial intelligence, we are not on the cusp of a ‘post-human’ economy. Automation will produce significant productivity gains that will reshape specific sectors and occupations. In aggregate, however, these gains are likely to be recirculated, with jobs reallocated rather than eliminated, economic output increased, and new sources of wealth created.

This discussion paper argues that public policy should seek to accelerate automation to reap the productivity benefits, while building new institutions to ensure the dividends of technological change are broadly shared.

Related items

  1. Towards universal opportunity for young people

    Outlining a vision for young people which could increase social mobility while also reducing inequality and disadvantage, so that every young person has the opportunity to build a decent life.

  2. One year in: the government is making decent down payments for the years ahead

    It’s fair to say it hasn’t been a straightforward first year for the government. 

  3. Britons back local leaders with fiscal firepower

    “Death and taxes,” they say, are life’s only certainties. But there’s a third - wherever taxes are controlled, power lies.