Talks

Carl Benedikt Frey joined us in London to talk about his book ""The Technology Trap: Capital, Labor, and Power in the Age of Automation", and what history teaches us about how we might deal with the upcoming shift in working habits caused by the age of artificial intelligence. * About the book * From the Industrial Revolution to the age of artificial intelligence, The Technology Trap takes a sweeping look at the history of technological progress and how it has radically shifted the distribution of economic and political power among society’s members. As Carl Benedikt Frey shows, the Industrial Revolution created unprecedented wealth and prosperity over the long run, but the immediate consequences of mechanization were devastating for large swaths of the population. Middle-income jobs withered, wages stagnated, the labor share of income fell, profits surged, and economic inequality skyrocketed. These trends, Frey documents, broadly mirror those in our current age of automation, which began with the Computer Revolution. Just as the Industrial Revolution eventually brought about extraordinary benefits for society, artificial intelligence systems have the potential to do the same. But Frey argues that this depends on how the short term is managed. In the nineteenth century, workers violently expressed their concerns over machines taking their jobs. The Luddite uprisings joined a long wave of machinery riots that swept across Europe and China. Today’s despairing middle class has not resorted to physical force, but their frustration has led to rising populism and the increasing fragmentation of society. As middle-class jobs continue to come under pressure, there’s no assurance that positive attitudes to technology will persist. The Industrial Revolution was a defining moment in history, but few grasped its enormous consequences at the time. The Technology Trap demonstrates that in the midst of another technological revolution, the lessons of the past can help us to more effectively face the present. Get a copy of the book here: https://goo.gle/3194fgx

This seminar with Dr. Frey takes a look at the history of technological progress and how it has radically shifted the distribution of economic and political power among society’s members. From the Industrial Revolution to the age of artificial intelligence (AI), this seminar takes a sweeping look at the history of technological progress and how it has radically shifted the distribution of economic and political power among society’s members. The Industrial Revolution created unprecedented wealth and prosperity over the long run, but the immediate consequences of mechanization were devastating for large swaths of the population. Middle-income jobs withered, wages stagnated, the labor share of income fell, profits surged, and economic inequality skyrocketed. These trends broadly mirror those in our current age of automation, which began with the Computer Revolution. And they are likely to continue as AI technologies are gradually implemented. We conclude by exploring the impact of COVID-19 on automation, offshoring, and remote work.

The sixth interview of the series features Martin Ford (Futurist and Author), Carl Benedikt Frey (University of Oxford), & Joshua Gans (University of Toronto), who will discuss how technological progress has historically and is currently affecting our economy, especially focusing on the labour-market. Will this be different for the currently disruptive technologies, especially AI and robotics, and if so, how? How should we interpret predictions about future progress in AI, such as when we’ll have self-driving cars? What can we learn about history and models from how AI and robotics will change our economy and labour-market? What should we change in our economics education related to this topic? This interview was recorded on 10th of September 2020. All dates referring to “next year” refer to 2021. Our website with all previous interviews: https://www.rethinkingeconomics.nl/ai-lecture-series YouTube: https://youtu.be/MsKpQI8U69w Anchor: https://anchor.fm/rethinking-economics-nl Breaker: https://www.breaker.audio/rethinking-podcast Google Podcasts: https://www.google.com/podcasts?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy8zMWExZjZmNC9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw== Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rethinking-podcast/id1529734296?uo=4 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0NPRyHrhnoI6Ktb3ZH0WL8 Pocket Casts: https://pca.st/pm2w3wm2 RadioPublic: https://radiopublic.com/rethinking-podcast-WkRP0X Overcast: https://overcast.fm/itunes1529734296/rethinking-podcast

The Aspen Institute Germany held its third annual AI Conference #AspenAI20 over the course of one week from December 7-11, 2020. During the Aspen Berlin AI Week, participants from across the world came together in a virtual setting for discussion formats including keynotes, two-on-one conversations, panel discussions, and seminars taking place in both English and German. The opening panel discussion, entitled "AI Typhoons and Tech Tycoons: Channeling New Forces into Economic Productivity and Inclusive Growth," featured: • Björn Böhning, Permanent State Secretary, Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, Germany • Carl Benedikt Frey, Oxford Martin Citi Fellow, University of Oxford; Author, The Technology Gap: Capital, Labor, and Power in the Age of Automation • Casper Klynge, Vice President, European Government Affairs Microsoft Corporation • Eva Maydell, Member of the European Parliament; EPP Coordinator for the Special Committee on Artificial Intelligence in a Digital Age • Andrew Wyckoff, Director of the OECD Directorate of Science, Technology and Innovation Moderated by Stormy-Annika Mildner, Head of Foreign and Economic Policy, Federation of German Industries (BDI) Further details on Aspen Germany's AI Week can be found here: https://www.aspeninstitute.de/conferences/aspen-berlin-ai-week-2020/

Speakers: Carl Benedikt Frey, Oxford Martin Citi Fellow, Oxford Martin School, Oxford University Azeem Azhar, Writer & Entrepreneur, Exponential View Don’t think about data as the new oil, Oxford economist Carl Benedikt Frey argues in his DLD Summer session with Azeem Azhar – because data alone doesn’t make you a leader in artificial intelligence. What’s really needed, he says, is making algorithms smarter, so that they understand in which context they’re operating. “There’s a risk of exaggerating China’s AI capabilities”, Frey says, and he sees “a real opportunity for Europe“ because “the AI race is in its early innings.” Azhar – publisher of the popular Exponential View newsletter – agrees that the current AI approach is limited. But “the reality is that very large models are working”, he says, which benefits technology giants and creates “an entire supply chain” of software and hardware around the dominant machine learning approach of neural networks trained on huge amounts of data. The DLD Conference channel features all talks held at past conferences and our digital format DLD Sync as well as the highlights of our events. For news, upcoming events and more interesting topics make sure to also visit: DLD Website: https://dld-conference.com DLD on Instagram: https://instagram.com/dldconference/ DLD on Twitter: https://twitter.com/dldconference DLD on Facebook: https://facebook.com/DLDconference/

Speakers: Carl Benedikt Frey, Economist, Oxford In the very first DLD Sync Carl Benedikt Frey talks with DLD journalist Karsten Lemm about the Future of work in times of the Corona crisis. The DLD Conference channel features all talks held at past conferences and our digital format DLD Sync as well as the highlights of our events. As an interactive webcast, DLD Sync is your direct connection to outstanding DLD speakers, allowing you to get inspired by our community’s brightest minds. DLD Sync thrives on your participation, so please tune in live for the upcoming Syncs and ask questions! For news, upcoming events and more interesting topics make sure to also visit: DLD Website: https://dld-conference.com DLD on Instagram: https://instagram.com/dldconference/ DLD on Twitter: https://twitter.com/dldconference DLD on Facebook: https://facebook.com/DLDconference/

Speakers: Dr. Carl Benedikt Frey (Programme Director, Oxford Martin School), Roland Berger (Founder, Roland Berger Consulting) Prof. Kai A. Konrad (Director, Max Planck Institute for Tax Law and Public Finance), Gisbert Rühl (Chairman, Klöckner & Co SE)

This panel was hosted by Axel Threlfall, Editor-at-Large at Reuters, and featured notable guests: -Dr. Carl Benedikt Frey, Co-Director and Oxford Martin Citi Fellow, Oxford Martin Programme on Technology and Employment, University of Oxford -David Hoey, Chief Executive O cer, WorldSkills International -Tod Laursen, President of Khalifa University Manufacturers of today must “upskill” their workers to prepare them for the jobs they will be doing 20 years from now, the summit heard, with concerns about artificial intelligence (AI) replacing labour described as ‘scaremongering’ by a leading academic. “If you go back to the first industrial revolution you will find not a single argument that is being raised in the contemporary debate that was not raised back then,” said Dr Benedikt Frey. Panellists agreed technology is advancing so fast that young people entering university today will be working with products that have not yet been invented and will have unimaginable opportunities. But Dr Benedikt Frey sounded a note of caution, saying that while technology may be moving fast, the implementation was not happening as fast as expected, citing similarities to the first industrial revolution, when it took nearly 100 years for the economic impact of widespread use of machines to be seen. He advised manufacturers to carefully study the occupational changes that are taking place in the market and try to plan ahead by upskilling the workers, so they will still be able to be usefully employed 20 years from now. For Laursen, artificial intelligence may not be as threatening to jobs as perceived wisdom suggests. He cited his experience of watching the Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed International Robotics Challenge as an example of how far the technology has to go in some areas, for example creating a robot to replace engineers and technicians in a maintenance environment, as teaching them to select the right tool and use it correctly is proving to be a challenge to robotics engineers. While Hoey was keen to emphasise the need for young people to consider roles thought ‘dirty’ by older generations, for example, welding, which now requires advanced technological skills, the importance of universities in teaching analytical skills that help adapt to change and acquire new skills was also cited.