This is part 17 of “101 Ways AI Can Go Wrong” - a series exploring the interaction of AI and human endeavor through the lens of the Crossfactors framework.
View all posts in this series or explore the Crossfactors Framework
You’d think LinkedIn would be the one place where one would show caution in predicting the future of work.
But AI hasn’t replaced us yet, so labor dynamics is factor #17 in my series on 101 Ways to Screw Things Up with AI.
What is it?
Labor dynamics arise from the interplay of technology and human productivity. It refers to how the interactions of human work (both physical labor and knowledge work), organisational structures, financial incentives and technologies evolve over time.
Why It Matters
Labor dynamics are massively consequential at both the individual and societal levels. They have existed as long as technological progress has been happening - from agricultural fields to textile factories to the modern office cubicle. Effects are both positive and negative. Negative effects are often related to the anticipatory gap and the Collingridge dilemma, where unwanted consequences are difficult to observe until they are too prevalent to reverse. Labor dynamics affect both human fulfillment and happiness through the work that is available and its impacts on the economic climate.
Real-World Examples
Labor dynamics and automation played a role in the US and Canada’s (and Mexico’s) current trade war over the North American automobile manufacturing industry as a single production zone spanning international borders. This industry has been an early adopter and developer of automation, continuing on an early trend of improving processes since its inception. The use of manufacturing robots has aided geographic specialisation while also allowing to fill in specialized labor gaps. Labor rates were a driver of increased automation where they were higher. Robotic equipment can easily cross borders to work in another country while people can not. In the meantime, fewer people are required for each car, while the jobs that remain haven’t been automated because they require human dexterity or coordination.
Key Dimensions
Human fulfillment - human happiness is important but seldom considered - often to benefit other incentives.
Emerging workforce- young people are constantly entering the workforce, usually making career decisions early in life while they are the most impressionable. Shortages in many professions over the years can be in part blamed on our overconfidence in predicting these changes, an inability to limit the quantitative impact on this emerging workforce and on socioeconomic trends driven by their parents.
Skill decay - as automation removes certain tasks from the labor force, certain skills become rare or disappear completely - sometimes too quickly.
Take-away
Before you give someone career advice, ask yourself if you understand why we have a shortage of plumbers?