Editor's Synopsis
Northwestern's Center for Human-Computer Interaction + Design (HCI+D) hosted a virtual panel featuring MIT economist David Autor and Microsoft chief scientific officer Eric Horvitz, both contributing authors to the National Academies' "Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Work" report. The discussion explored how AI, classified as a general-purpose technology akin to electricity and the steam engine, will reshape the labor market unevenly — automating certain tasks while creating new roles that complement human expertise in decision-making and complex problem-solving. Autor emphasized AI's value in supplementing human judgment in high-stakes situations, while Horvitz stressed that collaborative possibilities between humans and AI have barely been explored.
The panelists highlighted sector-specific applications in education, healthcare, and frontier science, including AI-driven drug discovery and protein structure prediction. Horvitz pointed to a collaboration with Northwestern's Shana Kelley on an AI virtual cell that can simulate molecular and cellular behavior in silico. Both experts warned against a passive, wait-and-see approach, advocating instead for proactive policy, governance, and training to ensure AI promotes shared prosperity rather than increased economic disparity. As Autor quoted philosopher Joshua Cohen: "The future is not a prediction exercise. It is a design exercise."
