2.1 Introduction to Module 2

Welcome to Module 2 of the course. Module 2 is centered on the impact of AI and automation on the world of work.

In Unit 2.2, AI and the Future of Jobs, a video by the Economist magazine provides a broad introduction to the different issues. It asks whether the future of your job is safe. It goes on to look at the growth of digital nomads working online and able to travel between different countries. It asks whether the borderless new world of work is long-term and sustainable?

The video goes on to ask if the fast-growing gig economy is an opportunity or a threat. The issue of workers’ rights and surveillance in the workplace are raised. Finally, it points to automation anxiety and to the core question of whether AI and automation will destroy or create jobs.

This theme continues in unit: 2.3 Will AI and Automation Create or Destroy Jobs. It is notable that despite almost daily stories in the media about the impact of AI and automation, there is little consensus on what the outcome may be, with some economists saying that over 40 per cent of jobs may disappear in the near future and others predicting that AI and automation will lead to an increase in jobs. This debate is not new, and it is suggested that the greatest impact may be in the content of jobs and work tasks.

Unit 2.4 provides a case study of how a vocational school in Wolfsburg in Germany is responding to the challenge of digitization and the need for new skills. The school has developed its own digital production line (producing chocolate lentils in boxes!), controllable through a mobile phone interface and part of the Internet of Things and providing copious data as feedback to students, teachers, and trainers

Unit 2.5 returns to the theme of asking what jobs are under threat by AI and automation. It discusses how researchers are approaching this question, providing examples from the UK Office of National Statistics and the Nesta research organisation. The unit also provides access to tools which can be used to examine the possible future of different jobs.

Another way to view the future of employment is not so much to look at whether jobs are created or disappear, but to consider what skills machines will take over and what skills humans have which are better than machines. This is the focus of unit 2.6 which looks at the spread of machine learning and AI in peoples personal lives and in day to day worklife. It provides as an example the use of AI in Information Technology departments, which can now basically be run by machines. AI is better at some tasks it is said, but people are central to creativity and innovation and at reasoning and framing questions. Retraining for new industries and skills is needed for those whose jobs are at risk.

In Unit 2.9, How Can Machines and Humans Work Together, two key questions are addressed:

1. What are the new possibilities of such cooperation offered by the AI-based technologies?
2. What skills are needed for such effective cooperation?

Unit 2.10 asks the question of how AI can improve the quality of work. The gradual upgrading of technologies and work organization including the implementation of AI permits smooth and gradual upgrading of skills and competence, it says. But it warns that the increasing demand for competencies and qualifications in the planning, monitoring and maintenance of digitally networked production systems cannot be satisfied with the current VET curricula.

The final two units in this module look at how we can shape the future of work.

Unit 2.11 looks at different scenarios. While a person equipped with AI support will be able to work independently in many occupational fields and sectors and AI will make the processes of recruitment and selection of candidates more smooth and effective, these technologies also empower enterprises to increase the surveillance of employees and to seek to increase productivity and to shape their working behavior.

Unit 2.12 provides a more optimist scenario based on the history of a campaign by Lucas Girling workers in the UK to move towards socially useful production. Although the campaign was ultimately unsuccessful, it inspired similar movements all over the world, including the production of a feature film, the trailer for which is included in the unit.

As we said in the introduction to the course, you do not have to follow every unit, neither do you have to follow them in the order here. But we hope the ideas and resources in this module will give you a comprehensive idea of what the likely impact of AI and automation is on the future of work and the challenges for vocational education and training.