Humanitarian Institute team member takes up research post at the UN
Nik Dawson, an advisor of Humanitarian Institute and a PhD candidate from The Magic Lab at University of Technology Sydney (UTS), is assisting the United Nations (UN) with a research project on the ‘Impacts of Artificial Intelligence’ (AI). The four-month research post is held at the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), which is a UN agency based in Geneva, Switzerland.
The research project is a collaborative effort between McKinsey Global Institute, IBM, Stanford University, UTS, University of Essex, AI Policy Hub and the UN.
Nik’s PhD focuses on the effects AI on economic inequality. Specifically, the impacts that AI could have labour markets, income distribution, and the potential policy responses to prevent growing economic inequality. His research is conducted from a comparative national government perspective and examines:
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The economic scenarios where AI accelerates automation by displacing and replacing human labour, thus widening inequality in the distribution of income;
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The requirements and political economy considerations of income redistribution that are caused by AI-enabled automation; and
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The labour reskilling requirements to ensure that labour markets are prepared through education and training for a future of work defined by AI.
As society struggles to come to terms with the potential implications of AI, it’s essential for researchers to help facilitate this understanding.
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To learn more about Nik’s research, visit his blog: Bits & Atoms
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