Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs
Taubman Center

Darrell M. West – The Future of Work: Robots, AI, and Automation

Wednesday, April 10, 2019

5:30 p.m. – 7 p.m.

Watch on Watson's YouTube Channel. Room 101, Stephen Robert '62 Hall, 280 Brook Street

Book signing and reception to follow in Agora of Stephen Robert '62 Hall 

Watch on Youtube

Robots, artificial intelligence, and driverless cars no longer represent things of the future. They are with us and will become common in coming years, along with virtual reality and digital assistants. As these tools advance deeper into everyday use, they raise the question—how will they transform society, the economy, and politics?

In this talk, Darrell M. West will discuss his newest book The Future of Work: Robots, AI, and Automation, and the need to rethink the concept of jobs, reconfigure the social contract, move toward a system of lifetime learning, and develop a new kind of politics that can deal with economic dislocations. He will cover a number of proposals to help people deal with the transition from an industrial to a digital economy. This includes creating new forms of job identity, emphasizing leisure activities in the arts, music, and culture, and making fundamental political reforms.

Dr. West feels that it is vital to address these issues in order to avoid widespread economic and political disruption.

Moderated by: Susan Moffitt, Director of the Taubman Center for American Politics and Policy

Darrell M. West is the Vice President of Governance Studies and Director of the Center for Technology Innovation at the Brookings Institution. He holds the Douglas Dillon Chair in Governance Studies. His current research focuses on workforce issues, technology policy, artificial intelligence, and data analytics.

West is the author of 23 books and is the winner of the American Political Science Association’s Don K. Price award for best book on technology (for Digital Government) and the American Political Science Association’s Doris Graber award for best book on political communications (for Cross Talk).

His books have been translated into Chinese, Japanese, and Korean, and he has delivered nearly 150 lectures in a dozen different countries. He has been quoted in leading newspapers, radio stations, and national television networks around the world.