- September 17, 2020
On September 17, 2020, at 4:00 p.m. CEST, Aspen Germany will host a virtual workshop on “Tech and the Worker: Rethinking the Social Contract” with Joanna Bryson, Professor of Ethics and Technology at the Hertie School; and Lisa Herzog, Professor at the Faculty of Philosophy and the Center for Philosophy, Politics and Economics at the University of Groningen.
In this discussion, we will focus on the fundamental challenges workers face today as a result of globalization, digitalization and AI automation following decades of wage stagnation and weakening labor protections. At the same time, COVID-19 has pushed millions into precarity and is exacerbating inequalities. Are current institutions and policies adequately addressing these challenges? How can productivity gains, which are increasingly decoupling from wages, be redirected into society? Given today’s tilt toward technology, are new models of ownership including data trusts, data pricing and shared ownership necessary? What does a Social Contract fit for the 21st Century look like?
This workshop will take place in English and is under the Chatham House Rule. It is hosted in partnership with Microsoft and belongs to a 4-part event series, in which we explore: 1) Lessons from past Industrial Revolutions; 2) A new Social Contract; 3) Automation and the Education Cycle; and 4) The policymaker’s Toolbox. These discussions ultimately aim to answer the questions: How can Europe, the U.S. and other industrial powers thrive in the face of the Great Decoupling How can public policy efforts work to preserve and deepen the dignity of work and meaningful economic participation in the deep digital age?
