Work

The new GDI "Future skills" study outlines four scenarios for the year 2050 and identifies the skills needed for these futures. Will there still be jobs for everyone? And would it be a bad thing if there weren’t?

From a technical point of view, the future of work has long been here, writes GDI researcher Stefan Breit in an article. Due to the corona pandemic, the mind-shift is now following. Remote is becoming the standard, on-site the exception. An information graphic shows how and where we will work in the future.

To be as individual as possible – but also to be part of a group: What sounds like squaring the circle is what we are aspiring to today. In a study, GDI researchers describe how a combination of these opposing needs could be possible.

No need to work anymore–this dream could soon become true, thanks to rapid technological progress. In a Financial Times podcast, economist Lord Adair Turner discusses the social consequences of increasingly smart AI.

Despite enormous technological advances, productivity of the economy increases very slowly. Thought leader Lord Adair Turner explains this paradox here and at the GDI on 21 January, 2019.

Customer-oriented, keen to experiment and networked – Jan Sedlacek, co-founder of business consultancy Stryber, knows what makes successful executives in the digital age. In an interview with the GDI, he explains why this is less about skills than about the way of thinking.

To improve equality of opportunity, utilize structured job interviews, says behavioural economist Christina Gravert. Experienced HR professionals in particular often overestimate their knowledge of human nature, and prejudices affect the recruitment process.

People who think differently – and don't suppress it in a business setting – are quickly regarded as annoying troublemakers. But “rebel talents” could be an advantage for companies specifically because of their non-conformity, says Harvard professor Francesca Gino. She explains why at the Academy of Behavioral Economics at the GDI.

In the second part of his summer tour, GDI researcher Zhan Li takes a closer look at how data and simulation capabilities are shaping our understanding of possible futures of cities and civic power. For this purpose, Li visited conferences and spoke to a number of leading futurists.

Blockchain, cryptocurrencies or artificial intelligence are not only transforming the world technologically. They also lead to cultural and political change. This provides a lot discussion among futurologists. GDI researcher Zhan Li attended a number of future conferences this summer and summarised the most important trends.