Tasks V: Robotics, Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Work

About this conference

Date: 07.02.2019 – 08.02.2019

Organised by: BIBB, IAB, ZEW

Place: Wissenschaftszentrum Bonn, Germany

Technological advances in the fields of robotics and artificial intelligence are increasingly making it possible for machines to perform tasks that previously could only be done by humans. This conference will bring together economists, sociologists and researchers from related fields to discuss frontier research on labor market effects of automation and digitization.

This development has sparked scientific and public debates on the future of work, often dealing with automation and the substitution of labor. The transformation of the working environment goes hand in hand with a reorganization of company structures, occupational and workplace-related content and skill requirements. New inequality paths are emerging and labor market participants are being confronted differently with these changes. In addition, educational and other institutional frameworks keep influencing the labor market. The aim of this conference is to bring together economists, sociologists and researchers from related fields to discuss frontier research on labor market effects of automation and digitization. Special focus is on the following questions:

• How do new technologies affect the level and structure of employment?
• How are new technologies changing work content?
• What are the (non-)monetary returns to work content?
• How do new technologies shape skill demands and which role do social skills play?
• How does technology affect overall inequality and also inequality between firms and workers?
• How does the role of educational and labor market institutions change?
• How do firms and workers adapt to changing requirements?
• How can policy help firms and workers who are struggling to adapt to digital transformation?

The scientific committee encourages theoretical, empirical, and policy-oriented contributions from all areas of labor economics, labor sociology and related fields. 

Keynote Speakers

• Pascual Restrepo (Boston University)
• Anna Salomons (Utrecht University, School of Economics)
• Rolf van der Velden (Maastricht University and ROA) 

Scientific Committee

Melanie Arntz (Centre for European Economic Research, Mannheim), Matias Cortes (York University), Hubert Ertl (Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training, Bonn), Bernd Fitzenberger (Humboldt University Berlin), Christina Gathmann (Heidelberg University), Maarten Goos (Utrecht University), Guy Michaels (London School of Economics), Joachim Möller (Institute for Employment Research, Nürnberg), Sabine Pfeiffer (Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nuremberg), Uta Schönberg (University College London), Alexandra Spitz-Oener (Humboldt University Berlin), Olaf Struck (University of Bamberg), Daniel Tannenbaum (University of Nebraska)