The Data Science & AI Initiative at LBS, in collaboration with the Wheeler Institute for Business and Development, is delighted to welcome Luis Garicano, Professor of Public Policy at the London School of Economics, for a fireside chat marking the launch of his new book, Messy Jobs: The Work that AI Cannot Reach, co-authored with Jin Li and Yanhui Wu. The conversation will be moderated by Joseba Martinez, Assistant Professor of Economics at London Business School.
Drawing on the book, the conversation will explore why some jobs are easy for AI to take over while others – those requiring judgment, trust, coordination, and the ability to hold organizations together amid conflict and ambiguity – remain stubbornly human. The discussion will unpack what determines a job’s durability in the age of AI, and what it means for how organizations, and the next generation entering the workforce, should prepare for what lies ahead. The talk will be followed by a book signing session.
Date: Thursday 22nd October
Time: 6:00pm
Location: Lecture Theatre 1, Sussex Place, Regent’s Park, London NW1 4SA
About the speakers
Luis Garicano is Professor of Public Policy at the London School of Economics. Former Member of the European Parliament (2019–2022), his research focuses on the acquisition and transmission of knowledge in organizations, and on how technology reshapes the value of expertise in the economy. He has previously held faculty positions at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and IE Business School, and visiting appointments at MIT, Columbia Business School and London Business School. He holds a PhD from the University of Chicago.
Joseba Martinez is Assistant Professor of Economics at London Business School. He is a macro- and financial economist whose research interests include the effect of automation on productivity, economic growth, and income distribution, and whose work on the design of banking system stress-tests has been published in the Review of Economic Studies. Before his PhD, he worked as a trader at ABN AMRO London and as a senior manager at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. He holds a BSc from University College London, an MSc from LSE, and a PhD from New York University.