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Op-Ed: Putting Automation on the Mayor’s Agenda

Commentary/Op-Ed - January 2018

Op-Ed: Putting Automation on the Mayor’s Agenda

A fully automated city may still be more science fiction than fact, but era-defining changes are already here. The city must prepare for the wave of automation or be left in its wake.

by Matt A.V. Chaban & Winston C. Fisher

Tags: automation workforce opportunity innovation economy tech middle class jobs project

Automation is threading through every level of New York City's economy, from warehouses and food courts to trading floors and operating rooms. But too many New Yorkers are ill-equipped.

In this Crain's New York Business op-ed, Center for an Urban Future's policy director and Fisher fellow Matt A.V. Chaban and Fisher Brothers partner and co-chair of the New York City Regional Economic Development Council Winston C. Fisher argue that Mayor Bill de Blasio and the City Council no longer have the luxury of time. Policymakers will have to take action in the next four years to help prepare New Yorkers with the skills they need to thrive in an automated future.

Read the op-ed here.

This op-ed is a continuation of the Center for an Urban Future's extensive research on automation and workforce in New York, including the study, Work to Do: How Automation Will Transform Jobs in NYC

Photo Credit: Alex Knight/Unsplash