Future of Work

The Oxford Martin Programme on

the Future of Work

The Challenge

The 21st century has already brought astonishing technological achievements. From smartphones to internet shopping, our lives are transformed in many ways, and the world of work is affected in particularly dramatic ways.

Yet these changes are not always positive, and any benefits are not always widely shared. This programme, with the support of Citi, is investigating the implications of a rapidly changing technological landscape for economies and societies.

The programme will provide an in-depth understanding of how technology is transforming the economy, to help leaders create a successful transition into new ways of working in the 21st Century.

The programme will provide novel and relevant evidence on:

How technology is transforming companies and industries;
Why some places are better at adapting to this transformation;
Related implications for living standards, inequality and social mobility.

The Oxford Martin Programme on the Future of Work is part of a research partnership between the Oxford Martin School and Citi, analysing some of the most pressing global challenges of the 21st Century. As well as collaborating on research, the Oxford Martin School and Citi are publishing joint Citi Global Perspectives & Solutions (Citi GPS) reports, most recently Technology at Work v6.0.

ROBOT-PROOF

Long Read - June 2019

When it comes to the capabilities of intelligent machines we've seen nothing yet, says Dr Carl Benedikt Frey.

So how can we prepare future generations for a very different world of work?

Read

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Research

Technology & Work

Just as industrial robots have changed the nature of manufacturing, big data and smart machines are now transforming a wide range of industries and occupations.

We are researching the broader trends, as well as the effect on specific industries and companies.

Technology & Structural Transformation

The team is investigating why some places are better at adapting to the transformation of industries and occupations.

We examine why some cities and nations have successfully managed the renewal process, while others have not.

Technology & Inclusive Growth

Throughout history, technological progress has delivered growing incomes and higher standards of living for many. Yet technology is increasingly displacing workers.

We seek to understand how technology impacts on growth, inequality and social mobility.

Technequality

Working with the Technological and Economic Change programme, the team is part of a consortium to understand how technological innovations impact the size and nature of inequalities and labour market outcomes in the EU. This Horizon 2020 project will also assess policies to reduce technology driven inequalities.

featured blog

Automation and the future of work – understanding the numbers

In 2013, we published a paper entitled “The Future of Employment: How Susceptible Are Jobs to Computerisation?”, estimating that 47% of U.S. jobs are at risk of automation. Since then, numerous studies have emerged, arriving at very different conclusions. Many policymakers naturally find it hard to make sense of these results. Which study is right? And why do they arrive at very different conclusions? In this article, we shall seek to explain why these estimates diverge.

Read it now

videos

Book talk: 'Age of the City: why our future will be won or lost together' with Prof Ian Goldin

'Remote work across jobs, companies, and space' with Dr Bledi Taska

'Technological change, the future of jobs and development' with Prof Joseph E. Stiglitz

Book talk 'Cloud Empires: How Digital Platforms Are Overtaking the State and How We Can Regain Control' with Prof Vili Lehdonvirta

news

View all

Remote collaborations deliver fewer scientific breakthroughs, says Oxford Martin research

Remote teams are less likely to make breakthrough discoveries compared to those who work onsite, according to research led by the universities of Oxford and Pittsburgh into the rise of remote collaborations among scientists and inventors across the world.

Jobs will be automated, but not because of the latest Generative AI

Everyone is worried about Artificial Intelligence. From writers in Hollywood to computer programmers, recent advances in technology are causing concern about what Generative AI is going to mean for the future of work, our society and the wider world. Is there nothing machines will not be able to do?

Generative AI can potentially disrupt labour markets, say Oxford experts 10 years after ground-breaking study

Ten years ago, two experts in AI from the Oxford Martin School predicted that almost half of jobs were at risk of automation. In a new upcoming study, Professors Carl-Benedikt Frey and Michael A Osborne now say that while Generative AI has increased the scope of automation further, it will also make many jobs easier to do for people with lower skills.

Autocratic regimes less effective than democracies in responding to COVID-19

Their analysis shows that on average, social capital is approximately 30% higher in democratic societies.

people

Carl Benedikt Frey

Director and Professor

Ian Goldin

Director and Professor

Michael Osborne

Associate Fellow

Giorgio Presidente

Research Associate

Pia Andres