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Art Bilger talks about the future of automation at the Pacific Council Members Weekend

The WorkingNation founder discussed solutions to the challenges brought on by automation on the workforce.
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At an exclusive gathering of business leaders, policymakers and educators discussing global issues, WorkingNation Founder and CEO Art Bilger shared his ideas on how they can adjust workforce development to keep up with the speed at which automation is transforming the nature of work.

Bilger spoke at the Pacific Council on International Policy’s panel discussion on the future of automation on October 14. Appearing with panelist Dr. Andrea Belz, the Vice Dean of the University of Southern California’s Viterbi School of Engineering, Bilger said that humanity’s capacity to adapt to technological innovation is being outstripped due to the acceleration of change.

Bilger referred back to WorkingNation’s animated short “Slope of the Curve” which illustrates the dynamic change that is taking place globally.

“The slope of the curve in terms of changes in jobs over time has never been so steep,” Bilger said.

Bilger argued that it should be an imperative for policymakers to focus on the impact of automation on the workforce, which could replace 38 percent of all current jobs in the United States within two decades.

“We have to figure out ways to accelerate the process of retraining & reeducating those whose jobs will automate,” Bilger said.

Bilger’s fellow panelist Belz said that the drive to eliminate illiteracy – which guided societies through past industrial revolutions – should be matched by a focus on building skills in mathematics.

“Unlike illiteracy, innumeracy is still acceptable for those entering the workforce. This will need to change,” Belz said. She added that automation will “erase” jobs but it, alike past technological revolutions, has the potential to create jobs that don’t exist.

Reforming educational models shouldn’t be limited to primary and secondary education, Bilger added. The problem of reskilling older workers, who are the most vulnerable to employment shocks due to automation and globalization, should be a part of the conversation too.

“It’s one thing to change K-12 curriculum, but reeducating those over 48-years-old is a challenge,” Bilger said.

Bringing more awareness to programs which address the problems brought on by automation is WorkingNation’s mission. Bilger noted that these solutions aren’t getting the attention they deserve.

“There are so many solutions for automation being worked on, they just don’t have good visibility,” Bilger said.

Join the Conversation: Tell us your ideas about how societies can adjust to the rapid change of technology on our Facebook page.

Dana Beth Ardi

Executive Committee

Dana Beth Ardi, PhD, Executive Committee, is a thought leader and expert in the fields of executive search, talent management, organizational design, assessment, leadership and coaching. As an innovator in the human capital movement, Ardi creates enhanced value in companies by matching the most sought after talent with the best opportunities. Ardi coaches boards and investors on the art and science of building high caliber management teams. She provides them with the necessary skills to seek out and attract top-level management, to design the ideal organizational architectures and to deploy people against strategy. Ardi unearths the way a business works and the most effective way for people to work in them.

Ardi is an experienced business executive and senior consultant who leverages business organizational transformation through talent strategies. She uses her knowledge and experience to develop talent strategies to enhance revenue and profit contributions. She has a deep expertise in change management and organizational effectiveness and has designed and built high performance cultures. Ardi has significant experience in mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, IPO’s and turnarounds.

Ardi is an expert on the multi-generational workforce. She understands the four intersecting generations of workers coming together in contemporary companies, each with their own mindsets, leadership and communications styles, values and motivations. Ardi is sought after to assist companies manage and thrive by bringing the generations together. Her book, Fall of the Alphas: How Beta Leaders Win Through Connection, Collaboration and Influence, will be published by St. Martin’s Press. The book reflects Ardi’s deep expertise in understanding organizations and our changing society. It focuses on building a winning culture, how companies must grow and evolve, and how talent influences and shapes communities of work. This is what she has coined “Corporate Anthropology.” It is a playbook on how modern companies must meet challenges – culturally, globally, digitally, across genders and generations.

Ardi is currently the Managing Director and Founder of Corporate Anthropology Advisors, LLC, a consulting company that provides human capital advisory and innovative solutions to companies building value through people. Corporate Anthropology works with organizations, their cultures, the way they grow and develop, and the people who are responsible for forming their communities of work.

Prior to her position at Corporate Anthropology Advisors, Ardi served as a Partner/Managing Director at the private equity firms CCMP Capital and JPMorgan Partners. She was a partner at Flatiron Partners, a venture capital firm working with early state companies where she pioneered the human capital role within an investment portfolio.

Ardi holds a BS from the State University of New York at Buffalo as well as a Masters degree and PhD from Boston College. She started her career as professor at the Graduate Center at Fordham University in New York.