Acemoglu

Automation, AI and the Future of Work

A Distinguished Lecture by MIT Economist Daron Acemoglu
 
Sponsored by the Montana State University Initiative for Regulation and Applied Economic Analysis
 
Labor markets and societies around the world experience transformative changes as waves of new technology develop. From the advent of the knitting loom during the Industrial Revolution to the development of computer-assisted design and industrial robots today, technology enables workers to be more productive and earn more, but also replaces jobs and tasks previously performed by workers, causing unemployment. How have workers been affected by technology? How does technology impact income inequality? Where will the jobs of the future come from? This distinguished lecture will explore connections between technological change, the labor market, and rising economic inequality.  
 

The last two decades have witnessed major advances in artificial intelligence and robotics. Future progress is expected to be even more spectacular and many predict that these technologies will transform work around the world. But with these advances come widespread concern about their economic effects. — K. Daron Acemoglu

 

The MSU Initiative for Regulation and Applied Economic Analysis will host Daron Acemoglu as its annual distinguished lecturer on Monday, Oct. 14, 2019, 7 p.m., in the SUB Ballroom A. His talk will be focused on labor-technology issues and is titled, “Automation, AI and the Future of Work.”

Acemoglu is the Elizabeth and James Killian Professor of Economics at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and is one of the most frequently cited economists in the world. He is the coauthor of The New York Times bestseller “Why Nations Fail: Origins of Power, Poverty and Prosperity.” 

Acemoglu has spent decades studying economic growth and development, economic inequality, and their interactions with the political system. In 2019, he was named Institute Professor, the highest title that can be awarded to an MIT faculty member. A native of Turkey, Acemoglu was awarded the 2013 Presidential Culture and Arts Grant Award in Social Sciences by Turkish President Abdullah Gul. In 2005, he received the John Bates Clark Medal, an honor awarded to economists under 40-years-old judged to have made the most significant contribution to economic thought and knowledge.