We are an international research programme dedicated to understanding the prospects for human augmentation, social inclusion and shared prosperity in the fourth industrial revolution.

Have we properly understood the fourth industrial revolution?

The most extensive study on AI and the future of work today based on adoption patterns, the Digital Futures of Work research programme draws from interviews with 500+ respondents and quantitative analyses, examining patterns of activity across key digital hubs around the world including Silicon Valley, Singapore, London, Seoul, Helsinki, Berlin and many more.

The findings uncover a challenging future of work ahead as the dominant approach in most hubs is the use of AI/digital technologies to automate, standardise and redistribute knowledge/complex work – the very category of jobs that has powered social mobility across societies for decades. The findings call for a markedly different approach to education and training, and other aspects of policy.

KEY FINDINGS

Infographics series: Competing views for the future of work

Will the fourth industrial revolution create better jobs than it destroys? Two contrasting views – Labour Scarcity and Job Scarcity – show different possibilities of how AI innovation may impact high-skilled work.

01 November, 2023

Infographics series: Who is in the middle?

A strong middle class contributes to the stability of society. The middle segment of the labour market is transforming, with increasing number of degree holders and professionals now earning middle wages.

01 November, 2023

Infographics series: Technology and jobs in Singapore

Does technological innovation always create better jobs? Evidence from Singapore shows that technological change puts high-skills jobs at risk while not augmenting others. An exception is high skills, high discretion firms where technology strengthens the broad workforce.

01 November, 2023

Blog

Tales of the Unexpected: reflections on the Digital Futures of Work Research Programme

When we began our studies in August 2019 there was a lot of media hype about robots taking jobs as digital technologies were getting smarter at doing our jobs.

From K-pop and K-drama to ‘K-learning cities’: lessons for the digital era

In recent years, South Korea has been gaining more and more attention in the global market in many areas: for example, K-pop, K-drama and K-food.

Digitalisation’s impacts on occupations and skills – the challenge for English qualifications

Across the developed and developing world the adoption of digital technologies is having an impact on the structure of occupations and careers, and consequently on the skills needed to undertake jobs and job roles.

Digitalisation and English policy capacity

One of the key lessons to emerge from comparative research on national policy responses to digitalisation, automation and AI is that nations start in very different places in terms of their levels of capacity to confront these issues.

Will generative AI lead to a degenerative workforce?

In the final year of our research programme, we’ve witnessed what’s widely believed to be a step-change in digital innovation, resulting from advances in generative AI. In some ways it’s a light bulb moment!

The ‘future worker’: the missing piece in the socio-technical imagery of the ‘future of work’

Perhaps, we have put too much attention on the ‘future of work’ that we lose sight of the ‘future worker’. I was reminded of this in a discussion I recently had with a robotics engineer, Q. His company creates cutting-edge robotics products and services.

If skills are the answer, we could be asking the wrong question

I recently participated in a panel session at the Global Lifelong Learning Summit in Singapore. At the end of the session, we were asked for a final comment which led me to suggest, ‘if skills are the answer, we could be asking the wrong question.’

What does the digital labour market mean for the competition for jobs?

Digital innovation is rapidly transforming how labour markets shape the competition for jobs. People’s increasing online presence means that to recruit talent, companies increasingly have to operate in that digital space and with digital tools.

From paper and pulp to a digital front runner – Finland

Internationally, Finland is often referred to as a model country when it comes to digital transformation. Human capital investments are a central feature in the Finnish success formula.

Work Integrated Learning for future-oriented capabilities

In this blog I am arguing that when we place the emphasis on ‘integrated’, in work integrated learning, it should contribute to changing who our learners are and constantly become.

Why the UK government is failing to address digital skill needs

What is the UK government doing to identify and address future digital skill needs? What follows explores what is being done and points to some of the major gaps that will need filling if a comprehensive and coherent policy response is to emerge.

Digital skills in lower skilled jobs

What are digital skills, how are digital skills requirements changing for those in lower-skilled jobs, and how challenging are they to learn?

Skills-based hiring: More equal opportunities for all?

To what extent does skills-based hiring hold onto the promise of creating more equal opportunities for all in the labour market? And, if indeed so, does this mean that the degree is no longer important?

The current state of play and future possibilities of using A.I. for labour market analysis

The advance in digital information and the use of artificial intelligence (A.I.) have improved the quantity and quality of new labour market information substantially in the last two decades.

Lifelong learning and the fourth industrial revolution

It is still widely accepted that today’s technological advances require a strategic approach to lifelong learning, by increasing the volume and flexibility of human capital to deliver greater individual and shared prosperity.

New methods to understand the labour market in the digital economy

As part of the Digital Futures of Work Programme, we brought together over 30 experts from Europe and Asia to discuss new methods to improve our understanding of skills anticipation, job redesign, and labour markets in a context of rapid digital innovation.

The curious absence of a coherent digital skills policy in the UK

The impacts of digitalisation on skills are, at best, muted in current UK policy debates. Given the importance of digital technologies, why is this? What follows will argue that there are two key reasons.

The future of no work?

At the very beginning of my journey, I was crowing with the flock that “disruption is here”. Armed increasingly with worrying labour market skills data, I pushed same bandwagon that a fundamental skills gaps required quick education, institution, and government intervention.

The emergence of the digital labour market and its perils

Rapid digital innovation is transforming how people look for jobs and how companies recruit. Digital tools give job seekers new ways of describing themselves and employers new sources of data on candidates, in real-time and at low cost. But are there hidden perils?

Living, learning and working in the digital archipelago

When countries across the world went into lockdown due to the pandemic, the shift to online operations was a challenge for many. In Finland, this was not the case as Finland is highly digital, but more importantly, remote and hybrid working models in Finland are rooted in a culture of societal trust.

The future of work is distributed: the challenge of our time

The owner of a small business has difficulty hiring executives to support his firm’s pivot to digital. This is in Singapore, where locals aspire to join large transnational corporations or the public sector.

Looking for a shelter against automation? Your boss might be part of the answer

There is a lot of discussion about robots taking our jobs. Much of it is speculative, usually forecasts based on the opinions of AI experts, who tend to be too enthusiastic about the potential of digital technologies.

There’s a lot at stake in the future of work: a reminder that technology is not destiny

All industrial revolutions are characterised by changes in the nature of work. This is not just a change in the types of jobs people do to earn a living – from farm labourer to factory worker to computer software engineer, etc.

There is an urgent need to reimagine the 4IR in tandem with a progressive conceptualisation of lifelong learning… it would continually attend to the capacities needed under the broad headings of economic participation, personal development and democratic participation of citizens.

David James, Sahara Sadik , Philip Brown

Rethinking lifelong learning in the ‘fourth industrial revolution’ Digital Futures of Work Research Programme, Working Paper 5. (2021)

… skills – at the establishment level – they are not a barrier to labour substitution. By contrast, competitive strategies and management perceptions on workforce competence and commitment are relevant organisational characteristics in the protection against technologically related workforce reduction…

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Have we properly understood the fourth industrial revolution?

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