Writers like Oscar Wilde have envisioned a time when technology would eradicate the monotony of labour and result in limited working hours. John Maynard Keynes, in a 1930 paper titled Economic Possibilities for Our Grandchildren, predicted that in a century or by 2030, productivity would be increased, and technology would be advanced that three hours of work per day for five days a week or 15 hours workweek would suffice for people’s requirement. With the increasing standard of living, Keynes predicted a gigantic rise in income by the next century in an unparalleled era of leisure.  

Think tank published a study highlighting productivity gains and work-life balance improvement for 28% of the workforce in Britain and the US with the implementation of Artificial Intelligence.  

The study suggests it can improve work-life balance 

As per a new study focusing on the British and American workforce, Artificial Intelligence could enable millions of workers to move to a four-day week by 2033. Think tank Autonomy published the report, and the report found that projected productivity gains from the introduction of AI could reduce the working week from 40 hours to 32 for 28% of the workforce, which will be 8.8 million people from Britain and 35 million from the US while maintaining pay and performance.  

The study explains that this could be attained by bringing large language models like ChatGPT into workplaces to automate work and create more production time. As per Autonomy, such a policy could help keep mass unemployment at bay and also reduce mental and physical illness.  

The director of research at Autonomy, Will Strone, said, “Too many studies of AI, large language models, and so on, specifically focus on either profitability or job apocalypse. The study says that when the technology is deployed to its entire potential, but the purpose of the technology is shifted, it can improve work practices as well as work-life balance.” 

The research also showed that about 28 million workers, or 68% of Great Britain’s workforce, could reduce their working hours by 10% through the introduction of LLMs. As per the Think tank, local authorities of the City of London, Elmbridge and Wokingham hold the highest potential for workers with 38% or more of the workforce to minimise their hours in the coming decade.  

A similar study by Autonomy in the US 

Similarly, a study conducted in the US by Autonomy found that 35 million American workers could also move to a four-day week within the same duration. It found almost 128 million workers, 71% of the workforce, could have their working hours minimised by a minimum of 10%. States such as Massachusetts, Utah and Washington were found to have the potential for a quarter or more of their workforce to move to a four-day week using large language models.  

Congressman Mark Takano has already introduced a 32-hour workweek bill to the US Congress. He said, “Fundamental changes are coming to our workforce due to AI and automation. This will take government action to make sure profit in efficiency is felt by all workers, irrespective of the industry or level of skills”.  

In both the UK and the US, Autonomy calls on public as well as private sector employees to utilise the significant opportunity to become world leaders in the take-up of workplace AI and consider this as an opportunity to enhance the lives of millions of workers. Stronge added, “What I think would be impressive would be a robust AI industrial strategy, with automation hubs where trade unions, industry and experts in this tech get together to say: ‘We’re going to boost productivity, and this is also going to be something which delivers for the workers.” 

Artificial Intelligence will continue to spur massive innovations that will back various industries across the country, and it may even open up several new avenues for growth. It would ultimately lead to a rise in additional employment rather than encouraging the obsolescence of human labour. These studies suggest that adapting to new technologies and being aware of them will be a wise course of action in future. One of the most intelligent things humans can do is embrace and integrate technologies like AI into work in order to increase productivity and efficiency.

• https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2023/nov/20/use-of-ai-could-create-a-four-day-week-for-almost-one-third-of-workers
• chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://autonomy.work/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/chtgpt4UK.pdf
• Photo by Arlington Research on Unsplash