“Jobs are for Robots and Life is for People”

Are we asking the right questions around automation?

In his article for the World Economic Forum, Rutger Bregman encourages us to step back from the fear surrounding the automation debate, and instead view this as an opportunity for us to radically redefine what work means to us.

The time to do so is now: as he points out, a recent Harvard Business Review poll among 230,000 employees in 142 countries showed that only 13% of workers actually like their job, incidentally, many of these being those whose job descriptions and corresponding salaries would indicate they had achieved the ideal of career success.

If those who have achieved the ideal are now standing bewildered at the top still searching for meaning and happiness, it indicates that the very goalposts we have set ourselves for fulfillment are no longer holding up.

Bregman’s solution? Start with universal basic income, which would then liberate us to focus on work that is fulfilling and meaningful to us, allowing success to be defined not by a paycheck, but a much more human centered indicator — a feeling of happiness and fulfillment.

Could the rise of AI give us the space to actualise more fulfilled and meaningful lives?

We will be discussing this and more at the House of Beautiful Business in Lisbon, November 3–10, 2017. Alongside fellow start-up founders, executives, nonprofit leaders, investors, writers, philosophers, scientists, designers, technologists, artists, we will be discussing and prototyping how to lead with purpose and passion; how to build human companies and workplaces; and how to design for deeper connections in an age of exponential change and massive societal disruption.

Hosted in collaboration with the BCG Henderson Institute, the House will serve as salon, stage, and sandbox for people who are keen on rehumanizing business and exploring meaningful conversations around humanity and technology. You can find more information and buy tickets at: houseofbeautiful.biz