MIT Shaping the Future of Work Initiative

Are you subscribed to our monthly newsletter? Sign up to hear about new research, upcoming events, job openings, and other news from the MIT Shaping the Future of Work Initiative. Subscribe: https://lnkd.in/efNBZtzM

Our co-director Daron Acemoglu is #hiring a Research Manager at J-PAL South Asia, to work with him and co-PIs Ananya Kotia and Utkarsh Saxena on 3 projects related to AI, judicial state capacity, and microdata in India. Learn more and apply: https://lnkd.in/exxZRB3g

I've just created an account on Bluesky — you can find me there at @simonhrjohnson.bsky.social, and keep up with the latest from the MIT Shaping the Future of Work Initiative by following @mitshapingwork.bsky.social.

Nobel laureate Simon Johnson describes the new book projects he's working on (including a science fiction novel), and why it's so important to communicate and share research findings with a broader audience. "We have a lot of these pieces, but putting it together in a fashion that people can relate to and that they can understand, and carry with them on the plane, and show to their mother-in-law — that's really, really interesting to do." Watch the full interview: youtu.be/2DLfaB8N8VE

Our co-director David Autor explains that new technologies are transformative when they enable new capabilities and create new forms of expertise, rather than simply automating the work we already do. "If you were to go back to ancient Greece 3,000 years ago and automate everything they did, you would not have modern America. You would have ancient Greece without horses." Today, we have a choice about how we develop and use new technologies like AI. "We can use them primarily to automate, just to eliminate labor and routinize and mechanize things we already do, or we can use them to enable new possibilities in science, in education, in health." Watch the full clip: https://lnkd.in/eR2rGXXr

We are pleased to share that Joel Christian Gill and students and recent graduates from the Boston University College of Fine Arts Visual Narrative MFA program are creating a cartoon adaptation of Power & Progress by Daron Acemoglu and Simon Johnson. Last week, the team displayed some of their in-progress work at Simon's Nobel Prize celebration hosted by the MIT Sloan School of Management. We're committed to identifying different ways to share our research and connect with new audiences, and we're excited about this opportunity to communicate the themes and historical lessons from Power & Progress in a new form. Stay tuned for more on this project!

Pouvoir et Progrès, the French edition of Power and Progress by co-directors Daron Acemoglu and Simon Johnson is out today! Order your copy from Pearson France: https://lnkd.in/eQb8SKwR

The print version of co-director David Autor's article "AI Could Actually Help Rebuild the Middle Class" is now available in Noema Magazine's fifth edition. Order a copy here: https://lnkd.in/eWH4CP-8 Read the article online: https://lnkd.in/g6MS9gSK

Initiative Co-Director and Nobel laureate Simon Johnson discussed his research, career, and advice for young people in a recent interview with The Tech. "In order to have fully formed thoughts about topics, I have to go do stuff. I have to go interact with people. I've got to try things. I have to fail. I have to then try to make sense of it. For me, I have to struggle with the knowledge, to acquire the knowledge." Read the interview: https://lnkd.in/e5dRrwuZ

Looking for something to read with your book club, or put on your holiday wish list? These undergraduate students from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Department of Economics read and discussed Power and Progress by co-directors Daron Acemoglu and Simon Johnson. Get your copy here: https://lnkd.in/emg_p5Di