British Academy Conference

British Academy Conferences bring together scholars and specialists from around the world to consider and evaluate new research in the humanities and social sciences.

Automation, artificial intelligence and big data will have a dramatic effect on future economies. New technology provides opportunities for growth and prosperity, but it also has potentially disruptive effects on the labour market, making existing skills and tasks obsolete. To achieve sustained and inclusive growth, it is important to understand how we can reap the benefits of new technologies and facilitate the successful transition of the workforce to new opportunities. However, such challenges are not new. The rise of machine-driven looms in the 19th century threatened jobs in the textiles sector, sparking the Luddite movement. Similar fears were present when computers were introduced in the 1970s and 1980s. How did economies respond to these challenges in the past? What are the lessons for today? Bringing together leading economic historians and labour economists with policymakers promises to yield important new insights on technological progress, economic growth, and the future of labour.

Conference convenors: 
Professor Sascha O. Becker, Monash University, Australia and University of Warwick
Dr Hyejin Ku, University College London

Speakers:
This is a hybrid conference with speakers participating in-person at The British Academy or virtually (V) as indicated below

Day 1, Thursday 24 March

• Professor Robert Allen FBA, New York University Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
• Professor David Autor, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA
• Professor Kaushik Basu, Cornell University, USA
• Professor Nicholas Crafts FBA, University of Sussex and CAGE Warwick
• Professor Stephen Machin FBA, London School of Economics and CEP
• Professor Kathryn Shaw, Stanford University, USA (V)
• Dr Mara Squicciarini, Bocconi University, Italy
• Professor Claudia Steinwender, University of Munich, Germany
• Professor John Van Reenen FBA, London School of Economics
• Professor Joachim Voth, University of Zurich, Switzerland

Day 2, Friday 25 March

• Professor David Autor, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA
• Professor Nicholas Crafts FBA, University of Sussex and CAGE Warwick
• Professor Christian Dustmann FBA, University College London
• Dr Ekkehard Ernst, International Labor Organization, Switzerland
• Professor Lawrence Katz, Harvard University, USA (V)
• Professor Suresh Naidu, Columbia University, USA
• Professor Sir Christopher Pissarides FBA, London School of Economics and Institute for the Future of Work
• Dr Pascual Restrepo, Boston University, USA
• Dr Martin Sandbu, Financial Times
• Professor Uta Schoenberg, University College London
• Professor Kathryn Shaw, Stanford University, USA (V)

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