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Technological change

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 following studies claiming almost half of American workers could find themselves surplus to requirements as digital technologies including AI, robotics, etc., were getting smarter at doing our jobs. At the beginning

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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

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Working Paper 4: Technological change and labour substitution: can firm characteristics shield workers against automation?

A burgeoning literature that has emerged examining the potential of technology to automate labour. Much of this work, however, has relied on expert opinions and is ‘de-contextualised’, with little use of data on firms’ actual behaviour. We employ a rich dataset of over 3,800 companies to explore whether certain firm

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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. Such estimates take little account of job redesign possibilities, or social and economic

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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. – but also changes in the role of work

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