To better understand AI’s possible impact on jobs and employment, a task perspective is a good starting point – it provides insights into the automation potential of the current task content of occupations. However, it isn’t sufficient for a holistic understanding because it ignores several important concepts that lie in between individual tasks and labour market outcomes. Jobs, processes and organisations mediate technology’s impact on workers which is not captured by the task model of the labour market.
This CEPS Explainer provides a comprehensive framework for analysing AI’s impact on work by moving through the concepts of tasks, jobs, processes and organisations. It highlights how AI is not only an automation or augmenting technology for productive tasks but it can also be used to better coordinate work and ensure the best people are hired. While the former might change the quantity of jobs and their task content, the latter two have a direct impact on job quality and inclusive access to work. Finally, it’s the redesign of organisational processes surrounding AI’s adoption that will ultimately shape the future of work.
