About this episode
No matter where you sit within the economy, whether you're a CEO or an entry level worker, everyone's feeling uneasy about AI and the future of work. Uncertainty about career paths, job security, and life planning makes thinking about the future anxiety inducing. In this episode, Daniel Barcay sits down with two experts on AI and work to examine what's actually happening in today's labor market and what's likely coming in the near-term. We explore the crucial question: Can we create conditions for AI to enrich work and careers, or are we headed toward widespread economic instability? Ethan Mollick is a professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, where he studies innovation, entrepreneurship, and the future of work. He's the author of Co-Intelligence: Living and Working with AI.Molly Kinder is a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, where she researches the intersection of AI, work, and economic opportunity. She recently led research with the Yale Budget Lab examining AI's real-time impact on the labor market. RECOMMENDED MEDIACo-Intelligence: Living and Working with AI by Ethan MollickFurther reading on Molly’s study with the Yale Budget LabThe “Canaries in the Coal Mine” Study from Stanford’s Digital Economy LabEthan’s substack One Useful Thing RECOMMENDED YUA EPISODESIs AI Productivity Worth Our Humanity? with Prof. Michael SandelWe Have to Get It Right’: Gary Marcus On Untamed AIAI Is Moving Fast. We Need Laws that Will Too.Tech's Big Money Campaign is Getting Pushback with Margaret O'Mara and Brody Mullins CORRECTIONSEthan said that in 2022, experts believed there was a 2.5% chance that ChatGPT would be able to win the Math Olympiad. However, that was only among forecasters with more general knowledge (the exact number was 2.3%). Among domain expert forecasters, the odds were an 8.6% chance.Ethan claimed that over 50% of Americans say that they’re using AI at work. We weren’t able to independently verify this claim and most studies we found showed lower rates of reported use of AI with American workers. There are repor
