Who benefits from AI? New comic explores technology’s impact on labor – MIT Sloan

Report on “Power and Progress”: Technological Advancement and its Alignment with Sustainable Development Goals

Introduction and Core Thesis

A recent analysis by MIT economists Daron Acemoglu and Simon Johnson, detailed in their publication “Power and Progress,” examines the relationship between technological innovation and societal prosperity. The central argument posits that technological improvements, including the recent proliferation of Artificial Intelligence (AI), do not automatically result in shared benefits across society. This perspective directly engages with Sustainable Development Goal 10 (Reduced Inequalities), as it highlights the risk of technology exacerbating economic disparities if its development is not deliberately guided towards equitable outcomes.

Technological Impact on Labor and Economic Growth

The authors contend that the direction of technological change is a result of societal choices. The current trajectory of AI development, they argue, threatens to displace workers and concentrate wealth, challenging the principles of inclusive economic growth.

• Threat to Decent Work: The proliferation of AI across global industries presents a significant risk of replacing human workers, which is in direct opposition to the objectives of SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth).
• Uneven Distribution of Gains: Without intentional intervention, productivity and economic gains from AI are unlikely to improve the well-being of the general workforce, further widening the inequality gap addressed by SDG 10.
• Need for Redirection: The report stresses the necessity of consciously steering innovation to ensure that it supports, rather than undermines, the goal of full, productive, and decent employment for all.

A Framework for Pro-Worker Innovation

Acemoglu and Johnson propose a “pro-worker” approach to AI development. This framework aligns with SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure) by advocating for a model of innovation that is both inclusive and sustainable. The key components of this approach are:

1. Steering AI towards the creation of new tasks for human workers, complementing their skills rather than replacing them.
2. Utilizing AI to provide better information and tools that empower workers and enhance their productivity and decision-making capabilities.
3. Developing AI-driven platforms that foster collaboration and improve collective capabilities within the workforce.

Dissemination and Educational Outreach

To broaden the public discourse on these critical issues, the ideas from “Power and Progress” have been adapted into a graphic narrative, “Power and Progress: The Mini-Comic!”. This initiative serves as an educational tool to make complex economic concepts accessible to a wider audience, thereby supporting SDG 4 (Quality Education) by promoting informed public dialogue on the societal implications of technology. The comic, developed in collaboration with Boston University’s MFA in Visual Narrative program, examines historical precedents of technological change and their effects on workers to inform the current debate on AI.

Conclusion: Aligning Technological Progress with Global Goals

The work of Acemoglu and Johnson provides a critical framework for aligning technological advancement with the Sustainable Development Goals. By advocating for a deliberate and societally-guided approach to innovation, their research underscores that achieving shared prosperity is not an automatic outcome of progress. Instead, it requires conscious choices to ensure that new technologies contribute positively to SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth) and SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities). This approach is fundamental to fostering the inclusive and sustainable innovation envisioned in SDG 9 and ultimately contributes to the broader goal of SDG 1 (No Poverty) by ensuring economic gains are widely distributed.

Analysis of Sustainable Development Goals in the Article

1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

• SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth

  The article directly addresses SDG 8 by focusing on the impact of technological advancements, particularly AI, on the workforce. It discusses the threat of AI “threatening to replace workers” and contrasts this with the potential for “pro-worker AI” to create “new tasks.” This aligns with the goal of promoting full, productive employment and decent work for all.

• SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure

  The core theme of the article is technological innovation, specifically AI. It discusses how societies can “deliberately steer the direction of technological innovation” to be beneficial. The mention of creating “better information, and building platforms of collaboration” through AI connects directly to fostering inclusive and sustainable industrialization and promoting innovation.

• SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities

  The article’s central question, “But best for whom?”, highlights the issue of inequality. It argues that technological progress does not automatically lead to “shared prosperity” and that its benefits are not bestowed on all people. The establishment of the “Stone Center on Inequality” further emphasizes the focus on reducing inequalities that can be exacerbated by technological change.

2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

1. SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth

   • Target 8.2: Achieve higher levels of economic productivity through diversification, technological upgrading and innovation. The article discusses how AI can lead to “productivity and economic gains,” but emphasizes that this innovation must be steered to benefit society.
   • Target 8.5: By 2030, achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all women and men, including for young people and persons with disabilities, and equal pay for work of equal value. The concern that AI is “threatening to replace workers” and the call for “pro-worker AI” that creates “new tasks” directly relate to the goal of maintaining and creating employment.

2. SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure

   • Target 9.5: Enhance scientific research, upgrade the technological capabilities of industrial sectors in all countries…encouraging innovation. The article’s entire premise is about the direction of technological innovation (AI). The suggestion to steer AI towards “creating new tasks, providing better information, and building platforms of collaboration” is a call to enhance research and innovation for societal benefit.
   • Target 9.b: Support domestic technology development, research and innovation in developing countries. While not explicitly about developing countries, the principle of deliberately steering technology (“societies deliberately steering the direction of technological innovation”) is a form of policy support for technology development that aligns with this target’s intent.

3. SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities

   • Target 10.1: By 2030, progressively achieve and sustain income growth of the bottom 40 per cent of the population at a rate higher than the national average. The article’s focus on “shared prosperity” and ensuring that technological benefits are not concentrated among a few implies a need to ensure that economic gains improve the well-being of all workers, including those at the lower end of the income scale.
   • Target 10.4: Adopt policies, especially fiscal, wage and social protection policies, and progressively achieve greater equality. The argument that societies must “deliberately steer the direction of technological innovation” is a call for proactive policy-making to ensure equitable outcomes and prevent a rise in inequality driven by technology.

3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

1. For SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth):

   • Implied Indicator: Rate of job displacement versus job creation due to AI. The article contrasts AI “threatening to replace workers” with “creating new tasks.” Measuring the net effect on employment would be a key indicator of progress towards Target 8.5.
   • Implied Indicator: Productivity growth and its correlation with wage growth. The article links “productivity and economic gains” with the “well-being of workers.” An indicator would be the extent to which productivity increases translate into higher wages for the general workforce, not just profits.

2. For SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure):

   • Implied Indicator: Investment in “pro-worker” AI research and development. The article advocates for steering AI in a specific direction. An indicator of this would be the proportion of R&D funding (public and private) dedicated to technologies that augment human capabilities, create new tasks, and improve working conditions, as opposed to those focused purely on automation and replacement.

3. For SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities):

   • Implied Indicator: Distribution of economic gains from technology. The concept of “shared prosperity” implies a need to measure how the economic benefits of AI are distributed across society. This could be tracked through indicators like the Gini coefficient or the change in income share for the bottom 40% of the population in sectors with high AI adoption.

Summary Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

Source: mitsloan.mit.edu