It is my great privilege as well as pleasure to serve as a member of McKinsey & Company’s executive advisory panel. Of special interest to me is the subject of a recent briefing prepared by the McKinsey Global Institute for the Fortune Vatican Forum (December 2016): Technology, Jobs, and the Future of Work.

Here is a brief excerpt:

“The world of work is in a state of flux. There is growing polarization of labor-market opportunities between high- and low-skill jobs, unemployment and underemployment especially among young people, and stagnating incomes for a large proportion of households. Migration and its effects on jobs has become a sensitive political issue in many advanced economies. And from Mumbai to Manchester, public debate rages about the future of work, and whether there will be enough jobs to gainfully employ everyone.

“The development of automation enabled by technologies including robotics and artificial intelligence brings the promise of higher productivity, increased efficiencies, safety, and convenience, but these technologies also raise difficult questions about the broader impact of automation on jobs, skills, wages, and the nature of work itself. Many activities that workers carry out today have the potential to be automated. Job matching sites such as LinkedIn and Monster are changing and expanding the way individuals look for work and companies identify and recruit talent. Independent workers are increasingly choosing to offer their services on digital platforms including Upwork, Uber, and Etsy and, in the process, challenging conventional ideas about how and where work is undertaken. For policy makers, business leaders, and workers themselves, these shifts create considerable uncertainty, alongside the potential benefits. This briefing note aims to provide a fact base to stimulate discussion. It highlights recent findings from research by the McKinsey Global Institute and others in technology, jobs, and the future of work.”

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Here is a direct link to the complete report as well as a list of the reports the Global Institute has drawn upon and further reading suggestions.