Why you need a plan for the future of work
This week, we’re talking about the future of work and why you need a plan.
The latest news in work headlines surrounds Bill Gates, one of the largest tech billionaires in the world. He just admitted "there is no plan" to protect workers against AI disruption coming their way.
That's the running headline from his recent in-depth (almost 6000 word) essay about AI and the future of work. There is no systemic plan. All the words, and no plan.
Which is wild because:
1. It's not like AI job disruption is a new topic at this point and…
2. Did you know that MIT has a predictive Iceberg Index that models future human/AI job impact at scale across industries for this exact reason?
The MIT Iceberg Index could help us…
Yep. MIT actually has a predictive index called The Iceberg Index intended to measure employment outcomes before disruption occurs, to identify where AI capabilities overlap with human skills before widespread adoption occurs. The Index captures technical exposure and where AI can perform occupational tasks.
The numbers show we haven’t reached critical mass yet on the displacement effects. Current analysis shows that visible AI adoption concentrated in computing and technology (2.2% of wage value, approximately $211 billion) represents only the tip of the iceberg. Technical capability extends far below the surface of the “tip of the iceberg” through cognitive automation spanning administrative, financial, and professional services (11.7%, approximately $1.2 trillion).
So, there’s a HUGE delta between where we’re at and the impact we’re going to see, and we already know that and we know the sectors outside of tech coming next: HR, finance, logistics, office admin, and other “non-tech” logistics roles that AI can easily take over.