Decent Work in a Digital World

Advances in digital technology and artificial intelligence are transforming the future of work. Self-driving trucks are due to be tested on UK roads in 2018 and are already being piloted in the US where around three million truck drivers and 8.7 million other people are employed in trucking-related jobs. In the Philippines, which has benefited from global outsourcing, the jobs of 89 per cent of salaried call centre staff are now at risk from automation. Women are also likely to be disproportionately and negatively impacted by automation, and also less likely to be shaping decisions in the tech sector where they are under-represented. All of this has significant implications for the UK Government. A coherent policy response is critical to ensuring the UK meets the Global Goal of decent work for all by 2030, and that the efforts and resources it invests in supporting support some of the poorest nations in the world to develop and prosper are effectively targeted.