Daniel Susskind

Business leaders, politicians, and policymakers may disagree on many things, but most agree on the need for more growth. Many nations and organizations have faced significant challenges this decade. In this talk, Daniel Susskind explores how artificial intelligence can drive growth in transformative ways. In the 20th century, progress stemmed from investing in human education—expanding access to schools, universities, and professional training. However, the 21st century will rely on innovative technologies as the primary source of new ideas. The future success of countries and companies will hinge on their commitment to adopting these technologies and supporting the people and institutions that develop them. With optimism and pragmatism, Susskind outlines a roadmap to thrive in this new era.

This talk explores two futures for the professions. Both of these rest upon technology. Traditionally, many people have imagined that only blue-collar workers are challenged by automation; yet white collar-workers are now within reach as well. In the future, we will neither need nor want professionals -- lawyers, doctors, accountants, teachers, architects, the clergy, consultants, and many others -- to work as they did in the 20th century. In this pragmatic and optimistic talk, Daniel Susskind explains why, and sets out how leaders in the professions can prepare to flourish in the decades to come.

New technologies have always provoked panic about workers being replaced by machines. In the past, such fears have been misplaced, and many economists maintain that they remain so today. Yet Daniel Susskind explains why this time really is different. Advances in artificial intelligence mean that all kinds of jobs are increasingly at risk. So how can we all thrive in the future? Susskind reminds us that technological progress could bring about unprecedented prosperity, solving one of mankind's oldest problems: making sure that everyone has enough to live on. The challenge will be to distribute this prosperity fairly, constrain the burgeoning power of Big Tech, and provide meaning in a world where work is no longer the centre of our lives. In this pragmatic and optimistic talk, Daniel Susskind shows us the way.

This talk explores the future of education and training. Every day, we hear stories of new technologies taking on tasks and activities that, until recently, we thought only human beings could ever do: making medical diagnoses and driving cars, drafting legal contracts and designing buildings, composing music and writing news reports. To prepare people for the future of work, we have to radically re-think our education system: transforming ‘what’ we teach, ‘how’ we teach, and ‘when’ we teach. The challenge is that, at the moment, our educational institutions are still preparing workers for the 20th century, rather than the 21st.

Over the last few years there has been a frenzy of writing and discussion about technology and the future of work. But the ideas are so sprawling and contradictory it can often seem like we know even less than before all this analysis began. This talk is a response to this uncertainty and confusion: it explores the different myths that have emerged about the future of work, clears up the mistaken thinking that currently clouds our vision of what lies ahead, and explains how we can prepare for challenging but exciting decades to come.

Advancements in AI are announced daily, with innovative systems like ChatGPT and DALL-E now performing tasks we once believed only humans could handle—writing high-quality code, creating captivating documents, designing stunning architecture, and even diagnosing diseases. What do these breakthroughs mean for the future of work? This pressing question is one of the most significant challenges of our era. In this insightful and forward-thinking talk, Daniel Susskind shares his perspective on what lies ahead, drawing from his best-selling books, The Future of the Professions and A World Without Work.