Hardly Working with Brent Orrell

Artificial intelligence (AI) is advancing at breakneck speed. Michael Chui, a partner at the McKinsey Global Institute (MGI), leads research on how this technology is reshaping business, the economy, and society more broadly. According to MGI, the next wave of AI-generated productivity improvements will send shockwaves through the labor market as it reaches–and surpasses–human-level ability across a wide range of skills but ultimately make the entire world wealthier and healthier. We hope you enjoy this conversation.

Mentioned in this Episode

McKinsey Global Institute (MGI)

MGI report: The Economic Potential of Generative AI

Accenture report: Strategy at the Pace of Technology

Study on AI's capacity for theory of mind

John Maynard Keynes

Today, we continue to explore Appalachia with Chris Stirewalt, a senior fellow at AEI. Stirewalt, who grew up in Wheeling, West Virginia, speaks to Brent about the unique culture and values of Appalachia, the role that strong families and institutions play in the region’s success, and potential solutions to the region’s challenges, from its opioid epidemic to educational “brain drain.” He also takes us through much of the history of the region, offering deep insight into the region’s identity. As you’ll hear, Stirewalt is optimistic about Appalachia and confident that the region can overcome its most difficult challenges.

Mentioned in this Episode

More than a Paycheck

Deaths of despair

Anne Case and Angus Deaton

Jay Rockefeller

Robert Byrd

Big White Ghetto by Kevin Williams

Randy Moss

West Virginia Hills by Reverend David King

The media has told us a very straightforward, and depressing, story about Appalachia: it is a region that is being left behind as the rest of the U.S. economy chugs on; it’s a destitute, hopeless place without good jobs, and filled with communities in decline.

In his recent report on the region, Aaron M. Renn, a senior fellow at American Reformer, a Protestant nonprofit, complicates this picture. Appalachia, Renn shows, is no monolith (it consists of a diversity of areas with their challenges and identities); it has a rich cultural heritage, especially in music and the arts and natural beauty; and, while it faces its share of problems, it has tremendous opportunities for growth and several trends working in its favor. Today, Brent speaks with Renn about this much-maligned region, offering an insightful perspective on a region that has a crucial role to play in boosting social mobility for millions of Americans.

Mentioned in this Episode

The Future of Appalachia by Aaron Renn

Joel Kotkin

Joelkotkin.com

Open and Closed Networks

Appalachia on Our Mind by Henry Shapiro

Hillbilly Elegy by J.D. Vance

Systemic Disadvantage

Our Kids by Robert Putnam

In cities across America, homelessness, poverty, crime, addiction, and mental illness are perennial, and deeply intertwined, problems. The New York City-based Doe Fund, however, has made real progress on these challenges. Emphasizing work and personal responsibility, the fund has served struggling and at-risk individuals for nearly 40 years.

In this episode, Brent sits down with the Doe Fund’s outgoing President and CEO, Harriet McDonald, and its incoming leader, Jennifer Mitchell. They discuss the Fund’s model and track record of success, offering valuable lessons for government, nonprofits, and individuals who aspire to support vulnerable populations.

Mentioned in this Episode

George McDonald

Ready, Willing, and Able

Sector-based training

From tech companies to healthcare providers and fast food services, organizations are deploying AI technologies to boost productivity and improve service. As these technologies filter into the economy and workplace, a host of questions are arising: will AI replace human labor? How will new technology affect the nature of work? How can we equip workers for the future and help them adapt to change?

In their recent book Working with AI: Real Stories of Human-Machine Collaboration, management and technology experts Tom Davenport and Steven Miller explore these questions through real-world case studies. Pushing back against the growing anxiety over AI’s impact on work, Davenport and Miller contend that AI will not be a job destroyer, but a job-enhancer, a tool that will largely make work better–not only more productive but also more fulfilling and even more accessible–for most workers.

In this episode, Davenport and Miller join Brent to discuss their book, offering a vision of the future of work in which AI and other “smart” technologies complement human labor–and make us richer and more productive in the process.

Mentioned in this Episode

AI life insurance underwriting

Salesforce

European AI Regulation

Lump of labor fallacy

DBS Bank's use of generative AI

Eric Brynjolfsson

From Elizabeth Warren to former president Trump, actors on both the political left and right show increasing willingness to expand the role of government in the country’s economic affairs. Skepticism of free markets, long confined to the left, is now in vogue across the political spectrum, fueling a renewed interest in industrial policy and trade protectionism. 

Samuel Gregg, a distinguished fellow in political economy at the American Institute for Economic Research and an Affiliate Scholar at the Acton Institute, pushes back against these trends and what he calls “state capitalism.” In this episode, Gregg joins Brent to discuss his recent book The Next American Economy, which is a forceful defense of free markets and the moral and historical foundations of economic policy in the broader context of American values and history.

Mentioned in this Episode

Adam Smith’s moral and political philosophy

The Theory of Moral Sentiments

The Wealth of Nations

Michael Novak

Patrick Deneen

Sohrab Ahmari

As AI permeates our world, many are forecasting transformational impacts on work and the economy. With AI, the future is highly uncertain, but it's imperative that we prepare workers to the best of our ability today. In this episode, we bring you a live event with Brent and Shane Tews, a nonresident senior fellow at AEI and head of AEI’s Tech Policy Center, on the intersection of AI, skills, and the workforce. Here, Brent and Shane speak to AEI’s 2023 Summer Honors students and offer advice on how future workers like them can thrive in an AI-driven world.

Mentioned in the Episode

UPenn/OpenAI 2023 study on exposure to AI

Claude

ChatGPT

Bard

Dr. Nouriel Roubini

OECD Employment Outlook 2023: AI and the Labor Market

Polanyi’s paradox

Stanford University 2023 study on use of AI in call centers

The Age of AI: And Our Human Future (2021 book)

Precautionary principle

McKinsey & Company 2023 study on generative AI

In this episode, we invite you to listen in on a recent AEI event on the book System Error: Where Big Tech Went Wrong and How We Can Reboot (Harper Academic, 2021). On June 22, 2023, AEI’s Brent Orrell and Shane Tews were joined by Rob Reich of the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence and Jeremy M. Weinstein of the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies to discuss their book, which they co-authored along with their fellow Stanford professor Mehran Sahami.

The panelists discuss the challenges that Big Tech in the 21st century—particularly artificial intelligence—poses to democracy. They explore the dangers of the "optimizing" mindset that competition in technology encourages; the trade-offs between the values of privacy, safety, agency, and productivity; the rise of misinformation and disinformation; and issues of power concentration and regulatory capture in the technology sector.

Mentioned in the Episode

System Error: Where Big Tech Went Wrong and How We Can Reboot

Rob Reich

Mehran Sahami

Jeremy Weinstein

Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies

Stanford Institute for Human-Centered AI

“Get Rich U.” in the New Yorker

DoNotPay - Your AI Consumer Champion

Facebook “Connect the World” Memo

Sen. Schumer’s SAFE Innovation Framework

AI Bill of Rights

NIST AI Risk Management Framework

The Precautionary Principle

EU AI Act

In this episode, we invite you to listen in on a Workforce Futures Initiative (WFI) event from February 2023. WFI is a collaboration between the American Enterprise Institute, the Brookings Institution, and the Harvard Kennedy School Malcolm Wiener Center for Social Policy that analyzes the latest research on various aspects of the workforce development system to inform policy at the federal, state, and local levels.

In this event, Brent Orrell is joined by leading workforce experts Harry Holzer, Greg Wright, and Rachel Lipson to discuss the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), sector-based training programs, community colleges and their connection to the workforce, and labor market data information. 

Mentioned in the Episode

Workforce Futures Initiative

Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA)

Harry Holzer

Greg Wright

Rachel Lipson

Year Up

Per Scholas

Project Quest

CHIPS Act

Trade Adjustment Assistance for Community College Program

Good Jobs Challenge

Social Innovation Fund

Matt Sigelman, Burning Glass Institute

Julia Lane, NYU

Rich Hendra, MDRC

ASAP program, CUNY

Anne Kress, Northern Virginia Community College

Harry Holzer 2020 report on short-term postsecondary certificate programs

Higher Ed Act

Larry Katz, Harvard University

For our 100th episode, we look back at some favorite moments in our podcast's history.

You'll hear clips from conversations about the future of work with Jamie Merisotis; male worklessness with my colleague Nicholas Eberstadt; happiness and civic engagement with my colleague Ryan Streeter; thinking for yourself with author and Harvard lecturer Vikram Mansharamani; and identifying talent with renowned economist Tyler Cowen.

Whether you're a new member of our community or you've been with us since the start, we know you'll love these clips. We hope this look-back inspires you to revisit episodes or dive into them for the first time. One hundred episodes in the books; here's to 100 more!