Future Work/Technology 2050 Study
World leaders are warning about the potential dangers of artificial intelligence (AI) growing beyond human control. AI, together with many other future technologies, as for instance, robotics, synthetic biology, computational science, nanotechnology, quantum computing, 3D and 4D printing, Internet of Things, cognitive science, semantic web, human intelligence augmentation, blockchain, self-driving vehicles and conscious-technology, will have a big impact over the next decades, but they could also lead to massive unemployment, as these future technologies can replace much of human labour.
In this context, the Millennium Project think tank initiated a multi-year international assessment in 2015, in order to analyse and see what we can do: The Future Work/Technology 2050 study, that is being finalized and that will publish its results shortly. Some of the partners of the beFORE Consortium have participated in this study, as 4CF and Prospektiker.
The Future Work/Technology 2050 study has been developed through the following phases:
- Literature and related research review
- Over 300 futurists, AI and other technology professionals, economists, and other related experts from over 45 countries shared what should be considered in the construction of alternative future work/tech scenarios
- Three Work/Technology 2050 Global Scenarios drafts were written and reviewed by over 450 futurists and others via three Real-Time Delphi questionnaires: It’s Complicated – A Mixed Bag; Political/Economic Turmoil – Future Despair; and If Humans Were Free – the Self-Actualization Economy. Each of these scenarios can be found here: http://www.millennium-project.org/future-work-technology-2050-global-scenarios/
- These scenarios were used as inputs to workshops in 20 countries to identify long-range strategies to address the issues raised in these detailed scenarios.
- The suggestions were distilled and grouped for relevance to different domains and assessed by separate international Real-Time Delphi expert panels.
The final report will integrate all the work done, presenting a menu of action options for different actors around the world from which to choose the most relevant to their situation. These actions will be presented in five categories:
- Government and Governance
- Education and Learning
- Business and Labour
- Culture, Arts and Media
- Science and Technology
For more information about the study, visit The Millennium Project website: http://www.millennium-project.org/
Source: The Millennium Project – http://www.millennium-project.org/