Trend AI as a system technology reshaping work

Summary

The Scientific Council for Government Policy (WRR) regards AI as a system innovation on a par with electricity or the combustion engine, able to penetrate almost every part of society with large and hard-to-predict effects. AI is already used in care, logistics, services and education, and by taking over repetitive, standardised tasks it can ease labour shortages and free people for communicative, strategic and problem-solving work. AI agents that make their own plans can bring higher labour productivity, lower workload and time savings. The report cautions, however, that such gains more often favour the organisation, and that the remaining low-skill production work can become more repetitive and lonely. In the longer run AI could help restructure the labour market so that higher productivity offsets ageing and continuous retraining becomes normal. That prospect has consequences for education infrastructure at every level.