This area examines how artificial intelligence and automation reshape labor markets, workforce transitions, and the political economy of AI-driven value production — with attention to both empirical labor-market dynamics and normative questions about fairness, distribution, and worker power.
Research in this area includes analyses of what AI governance and ethics competencies appear in job postings, how AI adoption interacts with occupational skill structures and hiring patterns, and how organizations navigate workforce transitions driven by AI integration. One strand examines the emergent demand for “responsible AI” expertise in industry — and the gap between that demand and the supply of workers with relevant interdisciplinary training.
A critical thread focuses on extraction: how AI systems create value and how that value is distributed — or not — across workers, organizations, and communities. Drawing on political economy frameworks, this work examines algorithmic management, labor displacement, and the governance questions raised when productivity gains from AI are concentrated at the top of organizational hierarchies.