For example, workers could benefit from paid leave schemes that allow them to leave work to learn new skills. Germany already has a similar program, which allows workers in most German states to take at least five days of paid leave per year for educational courses, and the Labor Minister recently plans to expand the initiative. said.
Another possibility is a transfer tax levied on employers when workers’ jobs have been automated but have not been retrained, prompting companies to retrain their workers. may have a stronger tendency to Governments could also offer financial incentives to AI companies to develop products aimed at augmenting workers’ jobs, rather than replacing them. For example, an AI that provides research to TV screenwriters but doesn’t draft screenplays. Such products are likely to be of poor quality.
“If the government sets the agenda for developing technologies that are more complementary to humans, that will be very important,” Acemoglu said. “Industry is looking to government leadership.”
The government’s previous efforts to help workers during periods of disengagement have had mixed results.a study According to a study by Trade Adjustment Assistance (a U.S. government program that provides financial assistance and training to workers displaced by trade), in the early 2000s, they temporarily stepped out of the workforce to participate in the program. It turns out that the manufacturing employee has not yet been caught. Years later, they are earning more than workers who lost their jobs but were not eligible for TAA assistance.
Many economists say employers could also play a role in helping displaced workers.
“Companies are always asking governments to deal with job losses,” said Simon Johnson, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and co-author of the book “Power and Progress” with Acemoglu. “But Microsoft and Alphabet are in control of where they put their technical resources.”
Workers can benefit from employers’ apprenticeships and retraining programs, for example. Accounting giant PwC recently announced a $1 billion investment in generative AI, including an effort to train 65,000 employees on how to use AI. What changed was when the CEO visited the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland, and heard the following story.A constant debate about generative AI
“Many of us who came out of that room noticed something had changed,” recalls Joe Atkinson, the company’s chief product and technology officer.
