Digital Futures of Work Global Conference, 1-3 November 2023

A global team of 20 social scientists studying artificial intelligence (AI) activities across key digital hubs around the world over a four-year period spanning 2019 to 2023 unveil findings that the direction of AI innovation in corporate activities is to automate and unbundle professional work, putting the very type of work that has been powering social mobility for decades at significant risk. Public and private sectors, along with individuals, must collaborate, to ensure the AI revolution is sustainable and benefits all, necessitating human-centric digital strategies, job redesign and upskilling for at all levels of work.

The findings challenge conventional assumptions about AI technologies replacing less-skilled routine work to ‘free up’ people to do more high-skilled work in better-paid jobs. Rather than less skilled jobs disappearing, top-end professional jobs that involve decision-making, data analysis, and creative problem-solving are seeing more significant changes.

Dialogue at the conference, highlighted that human-centric outcomes are possible. Technologists especially agree that human-centric strategies exist to use AI technologies to elevate lower and middle-skilled jobs to unlock greater value.

250 local and international attendees were at the physical conference, with over 300 more who joined virtually.

“There is wide anticipation of the dramatic changes that AI technologies will bring to industries, jobs and occupations. It is not just technical possibilities that should interest us. Equally important is the profound societal transformations that will accompany AI innovation that must be on the radar of leaders in society.” – Professor Tan Tai Yong, President, Singapore University of Social Sciences.

Chief Executive of SkillsFuture Singapore, and Council Chairman of the Institute for Adult Learning, Singapore University of Social Sciences, Mr Tan Kok Yam highlighted that we “need a global dialogue and exchange of views, not just cross-national but also cross-disciplinary and cross industry.” Mr Tan reiterated the three objectives of lifelong learning set out by President Tharman Shanmugaratnam, that is to “deal with continuous change in technology, to enable meaningful working life…and to build a culture where we advance together as a society”. Mr Tan affirmed that as the conference speaks about “AI and its impact on jobs, all three objectives are at play. We need a breadth of perspectives – technologists, educator, employer-employee, unionist, researcher practitioner to come together to do the subject justice.”

Visit the conference website for more information on the conference.

View conference materials here.

Global Lifelong Learning Summit, 01-02 November 2022

The inaugural Global Lifelong Learning Summit (GLLS), jointly organised by the Institute for Adult Learning (IAL) and SkillsFuture Singapore, was held from 1^st to 2^nd November 2002. The summit examined how different stakeholders – learners, institutions, enterprises, Government – can come together to enable effective lifelong learning as a means to raise long-term employability, through discussions on different approaches to lifelong learning, best practices, and opportunities for collaboration.

Professor Phillip Brown was a panellist at the Global Lifelong Learning Summit: Maximising the socio-economic impact of lifelong learning. The panel discussed the role of workplace learning as part of the future of work, and deliberate on the conditions, models, and mechanisms required to enable workers to up-skill and re-skill in the workplace.

Professor Brown having a discussion with Senior Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam

Visit the summit webpage for more information on the summit and summit materials.

Calling for Research Participants in Singapore: We seek the views of 200 working adults on the future of work!

The Research Focus

What are the opportunities in the future of work? Will digital technologies (such as Artificial Intelligence, robotics, etc.) create new and better jobs, or is the future a lot more uncertain? What experiences do you already have with digital technologies in your current work/profession? How can you best be supported to prepare yourself for the future?

We want to hear from individuals on their experiences todate, and views on the future of work. Your views are important to help us recommend ways to shape the future of work towards human augmentation, social inclusion and shared prosperity. A total of 200 research participants are sought.

Eligibility Criteria

Minimum 3 years of work experience
Currently working in these industries:
- Finance
- Healthcare
- Education
- Digital/Advanced Manufacturing
- Sustainability
- Technology (e.g. AI firms, software development, edtech, healthtech, HR tech, fintech)
Based in Singapore or working remotely for a firm in Singapore

*Additional parameters may apply due to sampling requirements

Your Participation

45-60 minutes interview either via Zoom or in-person
Guiding questions to be send to you beforehand
S$50 voucher as an appreciation for completing the interview (only for participants based in Singapore)
Confidentiality of data fully assured
Right to withdraw from the study at any time
Access to seminars/workshop based on the findings

Interested to Participate?

Indicate your interest to participate by completing this form https://suss.au1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_a4uFlg4tQHwD4Ca. One of our researchers will contact you.

About the Research Team

The research programme has the dedicated attention of more than 20 researchers from around the world. It is hosted by Cardiff University and the Institute for Adult Learning, and funded by SkillsFuture Singapore.

For any questions, please contact Dr. Norazrina Muhammad Mustafa at norazrina@ial.edu.sg or Ms Candice Chong at candicechongx@ial.edu.sg

Researching Work & Learning International Conference Toronto (RWL12), 13-15 July 2022

Ms Candice Chong presented on how trust relations in workplaces mediate current and future trajectories in professional work and learning at the virtual 12th International Researching Work & Learning Online Conference (RWL12), from July 13-15, 2022.

The presentation focused on the prospective dimension of identifying the impact of workplace structures on professional journeys and future opportunities that is lacking in research on work and learning. This is a critical area for inquiry in the context of contested discussions on the future of work especially if workers will be substituted or augmented by AI and robotic processes. Based on an Institute for Adult Learning (IAL) mixed-methods study on Singaporean workplaces, the presentation shared findings on how trust relations in workplaces mediate professional journeys in the present and future. The mixed-method study combines a quantitative analysis of over 3,800 firms in Singapore with qualitative investigation of 30 firms. Through two case studies, the presentation outlines the divergent journeys of professionals in these two key archetypes in Singapore’s workplaces, namely an expansive, high-trust workplace, and a stratified, low-trust workplace. Findings from the study highlights that workplace structures shape the affordances available to professionals within the immediate environment as well as their future opportunities. This has important implications for policy and academic circles to support the design of expansive, high-trust workplace structures to secure the future of professional opportunities at a time of rapid technological innovation that increases the risks of workers’ marginalisation.

Visit the conference webpage for more information on the conference and conference materials.

Reimagining Human Capital in the Fourth Industrial Revolution Research Seminar, 19 May 2022

Professor Phillip Brown discussed the different interpretations of the fourth industrial revolution and the role of digital technologies in (re)shaping the future of work, education, and labour markets. The research seminar was organised on 19th May 2022 by the International Labour organisation.</span >
The human capital story is one of false promise: investing in learning isn’t the road to higher earnings and national prosperity. But rather than abandoning the idea of ‘human capital’ it needs to be redefined in an age of smart machines. This talk will consider different interpretations of the fourth industrial revolution and the role of digital technologies in (re)shaping the future of work, education, and labour markets. It will present a theory of ‘job scarcity’ rather than ‘labour scarcity’, which does not signal the end of work, but the need for a new theory of human capital where the fundamental problem is a lack of quality jobs offering interesting, worthwhile, and rewarding opportunities.

Visit the conference webpage for more information on the conference and conference materials.

Lifelong Learning for Inclusion and Sustainability Conference 2022, 06-09 June

Professor David James shared about Lifelong Learning and the fourth industrial revolution and its link to education models and technological change. The Standing Conference on University Teaching and Research in the Education of Adults (SCUTREA) and the Universities Association for Lifelong Learning (UALL) was held from June 6th – 9th 2022 and was hosted by the University of Glasgow’s Centre for Research & Development in Adult and Lifelong Learning (CR&DALL).

Two key discourses of our time, lifelong learning (LLL) and the fourth industrial revolution (4IR), have been linked to offer a compelling narrative of the coupling of education models and technological change to enable individual empowerment, social inclusion and shared prosperity. We identify tensions and difficulties with both concepts and their application, and our analysis of how they have been brought together shows a persistent technological determinism. However, we also suggest that the 4IR can provide an impetus for thinking about LLL in new ways: these transcend the individual employment-focused discourse and point to a progressive conceptualisation of LLL, which we argue is a necessary response to the changing nature of work and indeed more fundamental issues for humanity.

Visit the conference webpage for more information on the conference and conference materials.

Digital Workplace 4.0 Conference 2022 organised by the Singapore University of Technology on 12 May 2022

Ms Sahara Sadik shared insights and findings on digital technologies, corporate talent management, and the risks of new inequalities in Singapore at the Digital Workplace 4.0 Conference 2022. The hybrid conference, organised by the Singapore University of Technology and Design, was held on 12 May 2022 at Park Royal Hotel, Marina Bay and via Zoom.

The presentation focused on an analytical lens that is significantly missing in current studies on digital technologies, namely the social relations of production within a firm. Multiple studies of earlier periods of technological change have identified the decisive role of social relations in determining the character of technological deployment in firms. This paper reports findings of the first national-level study of the social relations of production at the firm level in Singapore, and how they shape the future of work opportunities. The mixed-method study combines a quantitative analysis of over 3,800 firms in Singapore with qualitative investigation of 29 firms. It found robust evidence of the use of digital strategy as an extension of firms’ social relations leading to unexpected risks of new social inequalities within the professional class in Singapore.

Visit the conference webpage for more information on the conference and conference materials.

‘Education, Skills and Work in the Fourth Industrial Revolution’ webinar on 27 January 2022

Professor Phillip Brown considers what is ‘revolutionary’ about today’s developments in digital innovation in the ‘Education, Skills and Work in the Fourth Industrial Revolution’ webinar, organized by Leeds University Business School Centre for Employment Relations, Innovation and Change on 27 January 2022.

Download and watch this webinar here

It is widely believed that digital disruption is transforming all aspects of the economy and society. This disruption is seen to be driven by advances across interdisciplinary fields leading to technological breakthroughs in artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, additive manufacturing, synthetic biology, smart materials, etc. Media reports of these advances have highlighted the prospect of mass technological unemployment resulting from workplace automation. But such concerns have been a feature of all previous industrial revolutions. So what is so significant or ‘revolutionary’ about today’s developments in digital innovation? This talk will consider different interpretations of the fourth industrial revolution and the role of digital technologies in (re)shaping the future of work, education, and labour markets. It will present a theory of ‘job scarcity’ rather than ‘labour scarcity’, which does not signal the end of work, but the need for a fundamental reassessment of current public policy.