Thought Leader Dialogue: AI and the Future of Work

Watch the discussion

From generating text and images to understanding problems and making decisions, artificial intelligence has prompted a wave of experimentation at work. Join us for an insightful conversation with Dr. Eric Horvitz, Chief Scientific Officer of Microsoft and Dr. David Autor, Rubinfeld Professor of Economics at MIT, contributing authors to the National Academies Report on Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Work. This timely discussion will delve into the evolving landscape of work, addressing critical issues such as creating new forms of valuable work and augmenting workers to changing workplace dynamics and labor. The public will gain valuable strategies for navigating workforce changes. Researchers will gain critical insights into AI development and work. And policymakers will understand the need for flexible responses. Don’t miss this chance to engage with thought leaders shaping the future of work and gain actionable insight to stay ahead in our rapidly changing world.

Tuesday, February 18th at 1:10pm CT on Zoom

David Autor
Daniel and Gail Rubinfeld Professor, MIT Department of Economics

David Autor is the Daniel (1972) and Gail Rubinfeld Professor in the MIT Department of Economics,
codirector of the NBER Labor Studies Program and the MIT Shaping the Future of Work Initiative. His
scholarship explores the labor-market impacts of technological change and globalization on job
polarization, skill demands, earnings levels and inequality, and electoral outcomes.
Autor has received numerous awards for both his scholarship—the National Science Foundation
CAREER Award, an Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Fellowship, the Sherwin Rosen Prize for outstanding
contributions to the field of Labor Economics, the Andrew Carnegie Fellowship in 2019, the Society
for Progress Medal in 2021—and for his teaching, including the MIT MacVicar Faculty Fellowship. In
2020, Autor received the Heinz 25th Special Recognition Award from the Heinz Family Foundation
for his work “transforming our understanding of how globalization and technological change are
impacting jobs and earning prospects for American workers.” In 2023, Autor was selected as one
of two researchers across all scientific fields a NOMIS Distinguished Scientist. Autor was one of five
senior scholars selected by the Schmidt Sciences Foundation as an AI2050 Senior Fellow in 2024.
The Economist magazine labeled Autor in 2019 as “The academic voice of the American worker.”
Later that same year, and with equal or greater justification, he was christened “Twerpy MIT
Economist” by John Oliver of Last Week Tonight in a segment on automation and employment.

Eric Horvitz
Chief Scientific Officer, Microsoft

Eric Horvitz is the Chief Scientific Officer at Microsoft, where he leads initiatives that bridge scientific discovery, technology, and societal impact, with a strategic focus on AI. He has made significant contributions to AI theory and practice, particularly in reasoning and decision-making under uncertainty, earning the Feigenbaum Prize and the Allen Newell Award for his work. Dr. Horvitz is a member of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, as well as a Fellow of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), the Association for the Advancement of AI (AAAI), and the American College of Medical Informatics (ACMI). He serves on the NIH Advisory Committee to the Director working group on AI, and advisory boards for the Allen Institute for AI and Stanford’s Institute for Human-Centered AI (HAI). He has served on the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST), the president of AAAI and on the Board of Regents of the National Library of Medicine, as well as advisory committees for the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, the National Science Foundation, and DARPA. Dr. Horvitz holds MD and PhD degrees from Stanford University.

Elizabeth Gerber is a professor of Mechanical Engineering and Communications Studies at Northwestern.  Dr. Gerber is the co-Director of the Center for Human Computer Interaction + Design, co-Director of the Delta Lab, and faculty founder of Design for America. Dr. Gerber is a leading figure in the field of collective innovation, studying the processes through which collectives, networks and organizations adopt technology to collaborate, innovate and create, as well as the design principles through which digital infrastructures can be built to support such innovation. Dr. Gerber is the recipient of the ACM's  Social Impact Award and the Beckman Trust Award for inspiring students to create organizations which demonstrably confer benefits on the community at large. Dr.'s Gerber brainchild, Design for America, has also received the Smithsonian's Cooper Hewitt National Design Award.