New Publication Investigates AI’s Effect on Labor

In this new publication, Prof. Kemmerling and Dr. Mwonzora examine how international organizations look at the future of work. Their study analyses important reports from World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF), International Labour Organization (ILO) as well as leading business consultancies, unpacking how these institutions discuss opportunities and risks for digitalization, automation and AI and their impact on the workplace. Their study establishes that apart from ILO, these organizations subscribe to a tech-entrepreneur view of new technology as a solution to everything. 

Prof. Kemmerling and Dr. Mwonzora argue that such a framing has important policy consequences because it means that tougher forms of regulation are out of the question. Rather than providing strong protections, stable jobs, or broader support systems for workers affected by technological change, the only things businesses are offering are retraining and some minimal social compensation.

This new publication is worthwhile and timely, given the contemporary policy, academic, and public conversations on the impact of AI on the future of work at the local and global level. The study helps extend the frontier of knowledge in an important policy field, particularly in middle-income countries where policy research on the impact of new technologies on labour market transitions remains sparse and limited.