David Autor

What happened to US workers when China joined the WTO, and how have these workers fared since? How should policymakers respond? Co-director @davidautor spoke with @HarvardGSAS about his research on the continued impacts of the China Shock. gsas.harvard.edu/news/david-aut…

MIT researchers @davidautor and @ProfNeilT joined the @csail_alliances podcast to talk about why AI’s impact on jobs hinges less on automation and more on how well the technology is designed to work with humans. bit.ly/4rJhlhb

Co-director @davidautor explains the difference between automation technologies and collaboration technologies — and why there is huge untapped potential for AI to be used as a collaboration tool.

I'm pleased to share the release of the 2026 International AI Safety Report, for which I was a reviewer. The report represents the largest global collaboration on AI safety to date. Learn more here: internationalaisafetyreport.org/publication/in…

.@MIT prof and leading authority on work, @davidautor, joins 3 Takeaways to discuss a radical possibility: using AI to "democratize" elite expertise and move millions of people into higher value jobs. A nurse practitioner could take on some of a doctor's work, or a legal assistant could handle tasks once done by senior partners. Listen to A Smarter, More Hopeful Future of Work - If We Get AI Right on 3 Takeaways, the top 1% podcast: 3takeaways.com/episodes/david… 💬 Join the conversation: How do you feel about the possibility of moving people up with ai? #MiddleClass #AIStrategy #DavidAutor #3Takeaways #FutureOfWork #podcast

📅 Join us on Tuesday, January 27 from 1-5 PM EST for a symposium on wealth inequality – its origins and political philosophy, its national and global contexts, and its connections to authoritarianism. See the agenda and register: shapingwork.mit.edu/events/why-wea…

In The Digitalist Papers, co-director @davidautor and @ProfNeilT envision potential scenarios for how AI will transform work. “Automation’s impacts on both employment and wages depend not only on how many tasks are automated, but which," they write. digitalistpapers.com/vol2/autorthom…

New episode of Teach Economics 🎙️ I talk with MIT economist @davidautor @MIT about the human side of AI: • Why AI won’t replace human judgment • How students can use AI as a collaborator, not a crutch Listen here 👉 stlouisfed.org/education/teac… #TeachEconomics #AI #EconEd

On Tuesday, December 2 at 11:00 AM EST, co-director @davidautor will deliver a presentation on Expertise, Artificial Intelligence, and the Work of the Future, organized by @pearson. Register for the webinar here: pearson.zoom.us/webinar/regist…

📅 Join us on 11/3 as we officially launch the Stone Center on Inequality and Shaping the Future of Work! The event will feature a series of discussions at the intersection of technology, the future of work, and inequality. See the agenda and register: shapingwork.mit.edu/events/stone-c…

On @PitchforkEcon, co-director @davidautor discusses his research findings on the impacts of globalization — and why these impacts can look very different for places versus people. Listen here: pod.link/pitchforkecono…

📣 Come work with us! 📊 We're hiring Predoctoral Researchers to work closely with @DAcemogluMIT, @davidautor, and @baselinescene 📅  Apply by September 21 to meet the priority deadline: shapingwork.mit.edu/careers/ @predoc_org @econ_ra #Econ_RA

Co-director @davidautor was interviewed on @CBSNews about how AI is affecting job searches, particularly for entry-level workers. cbsnews.com/news/how-is-ar…

In @TheAtlantic, co-director @davidautor and James Manyika explain why we should insist on developing AI as a collaboration tool, not just for automation — and what this would look like in practice. theatlantic.com/technology/arc…

Co-director @davidautor explains findings from his new research with @ProfNeilT. Automation (including AI) can make a job more or less "expert," raising or lowering wages, depending on the nature of the tasks it removes and/or creates. Watch the full clip: youtu.be/1lOOKvufS4w

How can the U.S. best respond to China’s rapid innovative sector growth? In a New York Times op-ed, Blueprint Co-Director @davidautor and Gordon Hanson outline 4 core principles that could help the U.S. manage what they describe as “China Shock 2.0”: nytimes.com/2025/07/14/opi…

"One of the great challenges of our era is to figure out how to create tools, AIs, that support people using their expertise better and learning faster." Hear more from @davidautor on the Possible podcast with @reidhoffman and @AriaIrene: youtu.be/MGKUTVyqJlI

"We’re not running out of jobs. We’re running out of workers." MIT Economist David Autor on how the rise of AI automation combined with declining birth rates will be one of the greatest challenges of our era.

The MIT Shaping the Future of Work Initiative is now the James M. and Cathleen D. Stone Center on Inequality and Shaping the Future of Work. Hear from our co-directors @DAcemogluMIT, @davidautor, and @baselinescene about our mission and goals for the years ahead.

(1/4) When some job tasks are automated, do the tasks that remain become more or less valuable? 🧵👇 In a new working paper, @davidautor and @ProfNeilT argue the answer depends on how much expertise is required for the tasks still done by humans.