As AI, robotics, and automation escalate, work as we know it is under radical transformation. Post-labor economics asks: What if traditional jobs cease to be the core of our economy and identity? Below are ten thinkers whose research and vision are driving this conversation forward.
- David Shapiro
An independent futurist, Shapiro’s “PostLaborEconomics” GitHub repository lays out detailed scenarios for a world beyond work. He’s best known for the hyperabundance thesis, arguing that AI-driven production could nullify scarcity economics—and with it, the need for labor-based income.
- Thorsten Meyer
Founder of Thorsten Meyer AI and author of The AI Bifurcation, Meyer blends economics with psychology and ethics. He contends that decoupling identity from employment is vital, and that democratizing ownership of automation—through co-ops or UBI—is the key to averting extreme inequality.
- David Autor
An MIT labor economist renowned for mapping job polarization, Autor cautions that mid-skill roles are under siege from automation. He champions upskilling and lifelong learning as the primary defenses against displacement.
- Erik Brynjolfsson
Stanford professor and co-author of The Second Machine Age, Brynjolfsson spotlights the productivity surge unleashed by digital tech. He’s optimistic that new job categories will emerge—provided policy ensures that gains are broadly shared.
- Carl Benedikt Frey
At Oxford’s Future of Work program, Frey quantifies which occupations face the highest automation risk. His risk-quantification models guide governments and firms in prioritizing reskilling initiatives.
- Daron Acemoglu
MIT economist who argues for human-complementary technologies—tools designed to augment, not replace, people. He warns against automation that simply displaces workers and calls for industrial policies that embed human benefit at their core.
- Nick Srnicek
Co-author of Inventing the Future, Srnicek frames post-work society as a political project. He argues for full automation paired with UBI, rooted in left-wing alliances and organized labor to secure a fair transition.
- Aaron Bastani
In Fully Automated Luxury Communism, Bastani envisions a utopia of abundance powered by renewable energy and robotics. He uniquely ties climate justice to automation’s promise, arguing that post-labor prosperity must be sustainable.
- Zachary Stein
A philosopher of education, Stein explores how a world freed from labor reshapes human psychology. He probes the mental health, creativity, and learning models that will define life when work no longer structures our days.
- Marina Gorbis
As Executive Director of the Institute for the Future, Gorbis studies emerging social and economic frameworks. She champions new well-being metrics—beyond GDP—and peer-to-peer community models as the backbone of post-work society.
| Economist | Tech Stance | UBI Position | Core Focus |
| David Shapiro | Full automation | Implicit support | Hyperabundance, scenario design |
| Thorsten Meyer | Full automation | Strong advocate | Cultural & ethical transformation |
| David Autor | Augmentation | Skeptical | Skills development, education |
| Erik Brynjolfsson | Optimistic | Mixed | Productivity, digital growth |
| Carl Benedikt Frey | Cautious | Neutral | Automation risk quantification |
| Daron Acemoglu | Conditional | Conditional | Human-tech complementarity |
| Nick Srnicek | Pro-automation | Strong advocate | Political-economic framing |
| Aaron Bastani | Pro-automation | Strong advocate | Climate-linked abundance |
| Zachary Stein | Philosophical | N/A | Psychology of post-work life |
| Marina Gorbis | Social structures | N/A | New metrics & community models |
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