Recent developments in technology, including the proliferation of smart machines, networked communication, and digitization, have the potential to transform the economy in ground-breaking ways. This revolution has generated a great deal of conversation about the implications for the future of work in America and the role of both scientific and business innovation.
On February 19, The Hamilton Project convened academic experts and business leaders to discuss the future of work in the machine age. Opening remarks were delivered by former U.S. Treasury Secretary Robert E. Rubin. Following opening remarks, Erik Brynjolfsson and Andrew McAfee, of the Center for Digital Business at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Sloan School of Management and authors of the best-selling book “The Second Machine Age: Work, Progress, and Prosperity in a Time of Brilliant Technologies” provided framing remarks. The forum also included two panel discussions focusing on labor market issues, including the changing nature of work and its implications for workers of various skill types, and organizational innovation and the importance of business dynamism in the face of such challenges.
Participants included Arati Prabhakar of DARPA, David Autor of MIT, Aneesh Chopra of Hunch Analytics, Laura D. Tyson of the University of California, Berkeley, John Haltiwanger of the University of Maryland, and Lawrence H. Summers of Harvard University.
Agenda
9:30 AM Welcome and Introductions
Robert E. Rubin
Co-Chair, Council on Foreign Relations
Former U.S. Treasury Secretary
9:40 AM Framing Remarks
Introduction by Roger C. Altman, Founder and Executive Chairman, Evercore
Erik Brynjolfsson
Schussel Family Professor of Management Science
Director, Center for Digital Business, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Sloan School of Management
Andrew McAfee
Principal Research Scientist, Center for Digital Business, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Sloan School of Management
10:00 AM Roundtable: The Future of Jobs
Erik Brynjolfsson
Schussel Family Professor of Management Science and Director, Center for Digital Business, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Sloan School of Management
David Autor
Professor of Economics and Associate Department Head, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Department of Economics
Faculty Research Associate, National Bureau of Economic Research
Aneesh Chopra
Co-Founder and Executive Vice President, Hunch Analytics
Former Chief Technology Officer, The White House
Lawrence H. Summers
Charles W. Eliot University Professor, Harvard University
Facilitator: Melissa Kearney
Director, The Hamilton Project
11:15 AM Break
11:25 AM Roundtable: The Future of Business Innovation
Andrew McAfee
Principal Research Scientist, Center for Digital Business, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Sloan School of Management
John Haltiwanger
Dudley and Louisa Dillard Professor of Economics and Distinguished University Professor, University of Maryland
Arati Prabhakar
Director, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
Facilitator: Laura Tyson
Professor of Business Administration and Economics and Director, Institute for Business and Social Impact, Berkeley-Haas School of Business
12:30 PM Forum Adjourns
