May 30, 2024
Building a High Tech Workforce for the Future
The Wall Street Journal reported recently that a bidding war has broken out among the tech giants for scarce and valuable generative AI talent. This scramble is part of a much bigger talent shortage that looms over the US economy in coming years as AI becomes critical business infrastructure. Since generative AI (GAI) burst onto the scene in late 2022, the technology has sped ahead, driven…
May 21, 2024
Did AI Just Pass the Turing Test?
A recent study by UC San Diego researchers brings fresh insight into the ever-evolving capabilities of AI. The authors looked at the degree to which several prominent AI models, GPT-4, GPT-3.5, and the classic ELIZA could convincingly mimic human conversation, an application of the so-called Turing test for identifying when a computer program has reached human-level intelligence. The results were telling:…
April 11, 2024
What a New Report on 10 years of AI Research Reveals
‘Lifelong learning’ is not just a buzzword. It’s a necessity as artificial intelligence changes the workplace As artificial intelligence advances, the landscape of work may be undergoing a seismic shift. The economic potential of this emerging technology is staggering; many predict that it will be a transformative force on par with innovations like the steam engine, electricity or the transistor. To paraphrase Bette Davis in “All About Eve,” “Fasten…
April 3, 2024
The Social Workplace: Social Capital, Human Dignity, and Work in America, Volume III
Executive Summary In this report, we analyze 41 interviews of participants in an earlier quantitative survey of worker attitudes. These interviews were targeted to survey participants age 22–29 to better understand the priorities and concerns of younger workers. Our findings underscore the paramount importance of flexibility and purpose in work. Our analysis suggests the definition…
March 20, 2024
When Workers Say They Value Flexibility, They Mean It
FlexJobs, a career services firm specializing in remote and hybrid jobs, is out with another of its regular surveys on American attitudes towards job flexibility. Consistent with our own surveys, which found Americans valued flexibility on the job above all other factors, including pay, the new FlexJobs data takes the analysis a step or two further. It appears that…
March 19, 2024
Conservatives Distrust Higher Ed—But Still Need Degrees
Ideological opposition to “woke” colleges and universities could harm conservatives and rural communities. American’s faith in our colleges and universities has seen a marked decline in recent years, with the percentage of adults who say they have “a great deal” or “quite a lot” of confidence in the institutions of higher education plunging from 57 percent to…
March 14, 2024
On the Front Porch with Brent Orrell and Tony Pipa: A Conversation with Carol Graham
Event Summary On March 14, AEI’s Brent Orrell and the Brookings Institution’s Tony Pipa hosted Carol Graham, also of the Brookings Institution, to discuss her book, The Power of Hope: How the Science of Well-Being Can Save Us from Despair. This conversation was part of the “On the Front Porch with Brent Orrell and Tony Pipa” series hosted by AEI and the Brookings Institution. Mr. Orrell, Mr. Pipa, and Dr. Graham discussed her research on the important…
March 6, 2024
College or Trade School? How About Both?
For too long, our debates on post-secondary education have taken a binary form: either “college for everyone” or “learn a trade.” But in an era when career trajectories are no longer linear, and when technology is rapidly and unpredictably evolving, the ability to adapt and acquire new skills is essential. What we need instead is a…
February 29, 2024
The Age of Uncertainty—and Opportunity: Work in the Age of AI
Abstract The question of how artificial intelligence will affect jobs, skills, and the future of work is open-ended, and answers have been uncertain and contradictory. As AI has advanced, forecasts of labor market impacts have increasingly emphasized AI’s potential to automate tasks that require skills—including creativity, writing, and social and emotional learning—previously believed to be beyond the technology’s reach. In the face…
February 23, 2024
Study What You Love or Study What Will Make You Money?
There’s a better way to think about—and talk to young people about—college. When it comes to education, adolescents and young adults face a dilemma: to follow their intrinsic interests or to choose a course of study they think (or have been told) will secure their economic futures. For most, to ask this question is to…