The AAAS STEM Volunteer Program and the AAAS Colloquium Committee present
Concerns about the Economic and Social Impacts of AI and the Future of Work
Featuring Dr. Robert D. Atkinson
May 2, 2018
4:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Light refreshments to follow
Some commentators fear that we are in the midst of a Fourth Industrial Revolution where artificial intelligence, machine learning, autonomous vehicles, and robots are replacing workers at staggering rates. Others worry about AI-fueled intelligent machines overpowering human control. In this session, Rob Atkinson explores these impacts and concerns and the implications for education. He concludes that instead of fretting about tech killing jobs, we should be worrying about how to boost record-low productivity growth—the only sustainable way to increase living standards.
Robert D. Atkinson
Robert D. Atkinson is one of the country’s foremost thinkers on innovation economics. With an extensive background in technology policy, he has conducted ground-breaking research projects on technology and innovation, is a valued adviser to state and national policy makers, and a popular speaker on innovation policy nationally and internationally. A sought-after speaker and valued adviser to policymakers around the world, Atkinson’s most recent book, Big is Beautiful: Debunking the Mythology of Small Business, is forthcoming in April 2018.
Before founding ITIF, Atkinson was Vice President of the Progressive Policy Institute and Director of PPI’s Technology & New Economy Project. He received his Master’s in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Oregon and was named a distinguished alumnus in 2014. He received his Ph.D. in City and Regional Planning from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1989.