February 16, 2024
The Overlooked Benefits of Work-from-Home Opportunities
The traditional boundaries that define where and how we work are rapidly dissolving. Driven by advancing technology and worker demand, work-from-home (WFH) opportunities remain common across a range of industries and are growing in popularity. This shift, while significant for all, holds particular promise for one demographic: moms. A recent study by Emma Harrington and Matthew E. Kahn delves into…
February 5, 2024
The Biden Administration’s War on Flexibility at Work
One of the signal errors of Biden administration policy has been its tendency to take regulatory actions that reduce the flexibility of the economy generally and the labor market in particular. The latest example of this problem is a new US Department of Labor rule aimed at reclassifying millions of “gig” workers—people who work in contract roles—as employees. The…
December 15, 2023
What Athletes Take off the Field
In today’s dynamic economy, the value of noncognitive skills cannot be overstated. While technical know-how and academic knowledge remain crucial, there is an increasing recognition of the role that skills like teamwork, resilience, and strategic thinking play in professional success. A fascinating area where these skills are intensively cultivated is athletics. Especially at competitive levels, sports serve as…
November 16, 2023
Work in a World of Abundance
AEI’s Michael Strain contends that, at least for the next several decades, it is highly unlikely that artificial intelligence (AI) will all but eliminate human jobs. This is largely due to the “creative” side of creative destruction. Innovation creates wealth, wealth creates demand, demand spurs employment. The amount of work to be done always increases. Over the…
November 8, 2023
Perspective: The 4-Year Dividing Line
New survey shows the compounding benefits of college degrees. Here’s how to help those without degrees to catch up When it comes to jobs and work, the past three years have been among the most tumultuous in decades. From mass layoffs in the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic to surging reemployment and wages as the country…
November 6, 2023
Upskilling from the Top
As artificial intelligence (AI) continues its rapid advance, upskilling is shifting from a luxury good to a necessity for almost all workers. Traditionally, upskilling efforts have focused on frontline and production staff. That approach is unlikely to work when it comes to AI. To reap the benefits of this technology, we need commitments at all…
November 3, 2023
The Biden AI Executive Order: Dark Brandon or Uncle Joe?
President Biden’s executive order this week on artificial intelligence (AI) brings to mind his split media personality, which consists of the avuncular “Uncle Joe” and the more Machiavellian “Dark Brandon.” This bifurcated political personality has the advantage of keeping his opponents guessing, but in the case of the EO, it creates a policy jumble that is going…
August 31, 2023
The Future of Work: Augmented, not Automated
In my first AEI report, “STEM Without Fruit,” I argued the case for the pre-eminence of noncognitive skills in a world of rapidly advancing technology. As part of that report, I cited evidence drawn from employer surveys, as well as wage and labor-share data, showing that across the economy the highest demand from employers and highest wage returns…
August 15, 2023
The Generative AI Revolution Is Underway
2023 is shaping up to be a pivotal year for artificial intelligence, with the rise of generative AI poised to transform industries and reshape workforces. The latest McKinsey Global Survey on AI confirms the increasing market penetration of tools like DALL-E and ChatGPT and outlines how workers and employers see the technology affecting work patterns in the…
August 9, 2023
The AI Apocalypse Can Wait
The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) has ignited fears about its potential to disrupt the labor market. There has been no shortage of predictions of huge impacts AI will have on the future of work—especially for workers with higher levels of education—fueling both anxiety and the risk of overzealous regulation. A recent report from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development…