Gonna be live-narrating the California Future of Work Commission today, and you can watch the stream here...
Everyone on the Commission now sharing their first influences on how they work -- a person who influenced htem. And again the only word I keep hearing is "immigrant immigrant immigrant immigrant immigrant"...
#CAFutureofWork
#CAFutureofWork
Hearing about "the future of AI is more about humans being complementary to robots... we're likely to have a shortage of humans in the future." My fear is that, while this is true...
> It will relax us and distract from solving this issue now (i.e., already have a "shortage" of labor while many people suffering from too little/underpaid work)
> Skills of "sharing" are great for some work, and as humans; other vocational skills may be (much) more useful
> Skills of "sharing" are great for some work, and as humans; other vocational skills may be (much) more useful
Totally agree with @ken_goldberg that we need to reduce focus on "learn to code" as the main salve as far as new skills. Yeah, it's the new writing, there are still things (much) more important! #CAFutureofWork
Hearing one of my economist idols @Susan_Athey on #CAFutureofWork... focusing on the things people need today, that research and technology can enable. Brava.
Removing impediments to working for yourself.
Providing access to work to a broader population.
Etc.
Removing impediments to working for yourself.
Providing access to work to a broader population.
Etc.
@Susan_Athey One of the most important themes: the future of work is about older workers.
Go @Susan_Athey for underlining that. #CAFutureofWork
Go @Susan_Athey for underlining that. #CAFutureofWork
@Susan_Athey Also noticing the group in the room seems pretty diverse... always could be better, though gender, age, race, etc. Happy to see a room that feels like California! (Standing room in here!)
#CAFutureofWork
#CAFutureofWork
@Susan_Athey Now James Manyika, co-chair of the #CAFutureofWork Commission, asking "if there's a labor shortage, how do we explain low wages?"
Returning to wages being only one half of the work puzzle, cost of living is a big piece -- reminds us @Susan_Athey.
Housing, housing, housing, housing... housing. (Plus healthcare, transportation, etc.)
Housing, housing, housing, housing... housing. (Plus healthcare, transportation, etc.)
One panelist said "it's about too many people entering the labor market"...??? That seems to... not be the reason wages are low right now. That sounds like more like an anti-immigration view to me.
Here @MaryKayHenry brings us back to "what about inequality now... seems to be missing for the most part." Here here.
One panelist says we're gonna get higher wages naturally if we wait, because of a coming labor shortage. I'm... gonna take the under on that bet.
Also doesn't help anyone suffering now. Are we in a crisis or not?? (Yes.)
Also doesn't help anyone suffering now. Are we in a crisis or not?? (Yes.)
I think as far as skills, we need to be careful to differentiate between skills critical for "the future of work" generally vs. skills critical to jobs at large information-industry companies, which I call "the future of working for us." First >> important than the second.
Enter @SaruJayaraman asking about race. Hard to have a single conversation about this issue without thinking about it deeply. Brava.
@SaruJayaraman "There's uncertainty about how much pain there will be or prosperity -- as far as technology goes. There's little uncertainty about who will bear the pain." @JedKolko
"California is probably in better shape than most places, but the differences *within* California are enormous -- bigger than most states." @JedKolko
"Racial and ethnic differences in California are likely to be wider than in the country overall." @JedKolko
"It's not just about risk to someone's job -- it's about the transition.
One person could, possibly because of more wealth or family, weather the transition better than another.
Who is going to be more able to weather or take advantage of transitions?" @JedKolko
One person could, possibly because of more wealth or family, weather the transition better than another.
Who is going to be more able to weather or take advantage of transitions?" @JedKolko
@SaruJayaraman "What other data sets do we need?" @HenrySternCA
@SaruJayaraman @HenrySternCA "The biggest issue for the future of work in California is... housing.
It's not just an issue of social justice, it's an issue of economic competitiveness.
It's an area where California is the most extreme outlier."
@JedKolko #CAFutureofWork
It's not just an issue of social justice, it's an issue of economic competitiveness.
It's an area where California is the most extreme outlier."
@JedKolko #CAFutureofWork
@SaruJayaraman @HenrySternCA @JedKolko "What have we learned that works?
EITC.
Benefits workers with fewer negative effects on the rest of the economy. There's a state version as well as the federal version."
@JedKolko #CAFutureofWork
EITC.
Benefits workers with fewer negative effects on the rest of the economy. There's a state version as well as the federal version."
@JedKolko #CAFutureofWork
"Even if we have training, we need the kind of safety net that enables people to take advantage of that training. Childcare, etc.
We should focus more on supporting transitions than in managing the pace of technological change."
@JedKolko #CAFutureofWork
We should focus more on supporting transitions than in managing the pace of technological change."
@JedKolko #CAFutureofWork
@JedKolko And now @SlaughterAM brings it, and starts by reminding us to center the conversation on humans, not on markets or anything else. Human-centered design :) @sarafenskebahat knows.
@JedKolko @SlaughterAM @sarafenskebahat I still keep meaning to read this @SlaughterAM book recommendation, which I bought the day she first mentioned it but whoa I need to bump it up the pile.
amazon.com/Caring-Milton-…
amazon.com/Caring-Milton-…
She's connecting what's been called "care" work with child development, sure, and also to the bigger movement of coaching... of every kind.
@SlaughterAM #CAFutureofWork
@SlaughterAM #CAFutureofWork
Ministry, therapy, advising... is all part of the care economy.
First, we expand the category of care.
And then, we figure out how tech makes those jobs better.
@SlaughterAM #CAFutureofWork
First, we expand the category of care.
And then, we figure out how tech makes those jobs better.
@SlaughterAM #CAFutureofWork
We are going to need a catalyst, or long-term support, to pay enough in the care jobs. Where do you need government?
This same template applies to many other kinds of work -- like craft work.
@SlaughterAM #CAFutureofWork
This same template applies to many other kinds of work -- like craft work.
@SlaughterAM #CAFutureofWork
"As somebody who spent my life in national security, we have no higher priority than the first five years of our children's lives. The military takes this seriously."
@SlaughterAM #CAFutureofWork
@SlaughterAM #CAFutureofWork
And Steve Viscelli from University of Pennsylvania:
"Let's put less effort into predicting the effects of technology than than shaping them."
"Let's put less effort into predicting the effects of technology than than shaping them."
And @stanfordmav tells a powerful story... "In 2015, the combined workforces of Facebook, LinkedIn, Zynga, ... were smaller than the number of people who lost their jobs when Circuit City closed."
"The corporation (organization) is an outdated way of organizing the economy."
White collar workers are in a precarious world, too. What can public policy do? (She says we'll get to that in Q&A!)
@stanfordmav #CAFutureofWork
White collar workers are in a precarious world, too. What can public policy do? (She says we'll get to that in Q&A!)
@stanfordmav #CAFutureofWork
@stanfordmav Great idea from Steve Viscelli: "A truth in advertising law for employers, about the claims they make to employees."
Steve Viscelli keeps bringing it: "I saw those labor market graphs from the economists. We wish labor markets worked that way. The question is why they don't."
(@halvarian showed a supply and demand graph earlier today)
#CAFutureofWork
(@halvarian showed a supply and demand graph earlier today)
#CAFutureofWork
@halvarian And Bitwise gets the callout from @stanfordmav -- go @irms. Giving people the tools to work for themselves.
@halvarian And now we move to talking solutions... hearing about Danish solutions from @KatrineJoensen.
Reminds me of my soft spot for company founders from Denmark... you know who I mean.
Reminds me of my soft spot for company founders from Denmark... you know who I mean.
A great explanation of the elements of "flexicurity" -- and that it depends on a system of universal healthcare and a higher floor in general. 
@JulieSuCA @KatrineJoensen Dawn Gearhart from @domesticworkers on the danger of tech platforms being monopsonies in paying for labor.
"It might be too late for companies like Uber..." she says, "including workers with a say at the beginning might be essential." (Figuring out how to do that: Hard! Good!)
"It might be too late for companies like Uber..." she says, "including workers with a say at the beginning might be essential." (Figuring out how to do that: Hard! Good!)
"There's a false dichotomy between innovation and workers' rights." @domesticworkers totally agree Dawn Gearhart
#CAFutureofWork
#CAFutureofWork
@domesticworkers (Aside -- loved that @stanfordmav recommended this as one policy prescription) amazon.com/Jump-Starting-…
@domesticworkers "Just because it's in the App Store doesn't make it not-exploitative." @domesticworkers Dawn Gearhart
One solve Dawn Gearhart @domesticworkers suggests: VCs should make it a condition of funding a company that they adopt certain basic standards (worker voice considered, work should have dignity, etc.). Of course there's truth there.
I think the idea that VCs have leverage at the beginning of a company is not really like that, even when it's two people who have yet to incorporate... they often have alternatives.
That said, I think there's a way here and we will think on it more @BloombergBeta.
That said, I think there's a way here and we will think on it more @BloombergBeta.
@domesticworkers @stanfordmav Great question by @skasriel about the blockers to "doing something like Denmark here" -- and the fair answer from @KatrineJoensen is it's just a matter of will.
@domesticworkers @stanfordmav @skasriel @KatrineJoensen Hearing from folks in public comment section. Carlos Ramos @GigWorkersRise, for example, a Lyft driver and organizer, and others talking about needing their voice to be heard...
Proud to see a former student I had the privilege of teaching, @alex_epps, say that we need to think not just about wages but about total pay in all its forms.
#proudteacher
#proudteacher
Where @MaryKayHenry says... the more truth we bring, the sharper our comments, the more likely we'll be to get a good answer.
And... it's a wrap.
And... it's a wrap.
Honorable final mention... was that ASL I saw on the livestream? If so, bravo.
