'Jobs, Robots and Us provides a useful overview of some of the main questions that need to be considered about the emergence of the automated economy. The merit of Salmon’s book is that it is focused on the New Zealand context, and the specific effects of automation on our industries. This makes it relevant and timely and a good entry point for those wondering what all the fuss is about.' – Victor Billot, Landfall Tauraka Review
'The New Zealand focus is used adroitly to anchor the arguments and does not limit the contribution for readers in other countries ... Overall, Kinley Salmon has produced a highly readable, informative and thought-provoking book addressing one of the greatest challenges of our age – how to ensure that the exponential growth of artificial intelligence and automation is, in Schumpeterian terms, more creative than destructive.' – Jim Arrowsmith, Labour & Industry
'I am currently enjoying the excellent new book Jobs, Robots and Us: Why the Future of Work in New Zealand is In Our Hands by Washington-based New Zealand economist Kinley Salmon. It’s a comprehensively researched, yet very accessible, read through a subject which continues to exercise minds around the world. Highly recommended.' – Ben Reid, AI Forum
'There is plenty to think about in this book, and it’s an important study of our own particular economy and circumstances. While this is one view, Salmon’s — that of an economist, academic and millennial — is an analysis that will stimulate discussion and debate.' – Stella, Volume Books
'As a teacher, I found this work challenging but hopeful. My students will play an important part in deciding what work will look like, but the environment that enables such changes lies with my generation.' – Kathy Watson, The Reader
‘Scholars forecasting "the future" often forget that there is a multitude of possible futures – and all of them depend upon our choices in the present. Kinley Salmon's masterful book embraces this indeterminacy, debunks the misplaced fatalism about the impending 'robocalypse,' and offers a constructive vision for how to attain a future that we desire. Jobs, Robots & Us is essential reading for policymakers, informed citizens, and anyone who suspects that the future is still ahead of us.’ – David Autor, Ford Professor of Economics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
‘The next wave of automation is on the horizon, and it will change the world of work. This timely book considering the likely impact on New Zealand makes the important point that there is nothing inevitable about the changes – there are choices to be made about the kind of society we want, with technology serving us, not the other way round.’ – Diane Coyle, Bennett Professor of Public Policy, University of Cambridge
‘Paranoia currently rules our world regarding the impact of technology on our lives, largely due to misinformation and a lack of context. Kinley Salmon provides a much-needed, informed and balanced view of the changes we face, where they have come from, and how they might affect our world both positively and negatively. It really doesn’t matter where you currently sit in terms of your perspective on the future of work – and our world in general – Jobs, Robots & Us is a valuable addition to your thinking.’ – John Holt, Chairperson, Kiwi Landing Pad
‘This is a very readable book about one of the central challenges of our time: what happens to good jobs as technology increasingly threatens to replace them with robots and automation? But don’t be misled by the easy-going style. The book packs a very important punch and a deep policy message. Technology does not drop on our laps ready-made; we can (and should) ensure that the direction of technological change is broadly beneficial to society at large rather than the lucky few. Kinley Salmon helps us visualize such a future through vivid examples and stories.’ – Dani Rodrik, Ford Foundation Professor of International Political Economy, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University
‘A judicious and humane look at the future of work in a field full of hype and hyperbole. His emphasis that technology is not something that just happens to humans but is shaped by choices we make is worth saying, hearing, and repeating.’ – Lant Pritchett, RISE Research Director at the Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford
‘Technology offers the potential to finally fix New Zealand’s long-standing productivity problem and lift the material well-being of New Zealanders. This important book by Kinley Salmon helps us figure out how to make the most of this opportunity while ensuring that the benefits flow broadly across the people of Aotearoa New Zealand. The challenge for policymakers is to now get on and do it.’ – Paul Conway, former Director of Economics & Research, New Zealand Productivity Commission
‘There are two kinds of people in the world: the worriers and the solvers. The first group tells us what to focus on. The second tell us what to do about it. Kinley Salmon understands the threats, but is not intimidated by them. In this ambitious book, he shows us that the technological challenges that we face should not daunt New Zealand or the rest of us.’ – Ricardo Hausmann, Professor of the Practice of Economic Development and Director of the Center for International Development, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University
'Kinley Salmon writes like a dream on the future of work in New Zealand and, specifically, jobs, robots and people. He intelligently combines scholarship, journalistic inquiry, statistics, expert opinion, fictional work and poignant anecdotes to engage us from the first page to the last. Salmon’s thoughtful yet accessible reflections amount to a unique exposé on what technological advancements will really mean for employment levels, job character, how we engage with work and workplace productivity. He also garners empirical evidence to give us cause to feel optimistic about humans’ capacity to shape their experience, and the success, of workplaces that engage with machines while pursuing an effective trade-off between economic maximisation and human meaning. Yet Salmon’s work is also important for analysing, as he puts it, “what we know, what we don’t know, and what might really be going on” in both New Zealand and overseas contexts, and he does not shy away from explaining the political, policy and other challenges and opportunities that technological changes in the workplace could bring. This remarkable and ground-breaking book is a rewarding read, particularly for academics, policy-makers and business leaders, and is likely to become a well-thumbed reference in and beyond these circles.' – Jane Parker, Professor of Employment Relations and Human Resource Management, Massey University
'Kinley Salmon, author of Jobs, Robots & Us, presents a view into the future of work in Aotearoa. The New Zealand economist, now based in the USA, details what AI and automation could do to our workplaces, education system, and domestic lives. Should we be worried or excited? And what can we do to build a positive future for work in New Zealand?' – Radio New Zealand
'Digital devices and technology are already an integral part of the modern world, and exposure to technology is essential, lest students get left behind in the digital age. But the question of balance when it comes to screen time (educators are well aware students likely spend hours every day on their phones or computers outside of school) is one that remains top of mind.' – Tess Nichol, Metro
'A central theme is around affirming our ability to shape what technology is going to look like and how it gets used. We do not have to be passive receivers of an amorphous technological direction, but instead we can control it to meet our needs. This book shows that through political leadership, appropriate incentives and alignment of economic models, we can use technological transformation to meet our goals and aspirations – which is no mean feat.' – Liam Rutherford, Ako Journal
'[This] book is the culmination of years of personal interest in the topic, a book which presents various potential scenarios for what work in New Zealand might look like in the future.' – Skara Bohny, Nelson Mail
'Despite his cheering belief that humans have 25 years before they need to panic about their jobs, Salmon, author of Jobs, Robots and Us, says New Zealand has some big policy problems to tackle so its people can thrive as emerging technologies reshape workplaces.' – Rob Stock, Stuff
'With all the talk of artificial intelligence and machine learning, does the technological revolution really mean that robots are knocking on the door to take many of our jobs? New Zealand economist Kinley Salmon says there is so much hype, it's hard to think straight.' – Kathryn Ryan, Radio New Zealand
'There [has been] little research on New Zealand, and [Kinley Salmon] wanted to find out whether the technology trends were any different in his home country. The result is Jobs, Robots and Us: Why the Future of Work in New Zealand is in our Hands, a book in which he puts common predictions about a jobless future under the microscope and sketches out two alternative scenarios for Aotearoa.' – Maria Slade, The Spinoff
'A human tendency to revel in grim, dystopian future-gazing, and give too much credence to self-interested Silicon Valley "futurists", has led to fears that robots and artificial intelligence systems are about to take half of all human jobs. But Kiwi economist and author Kinley Salmon gives human workers at least 25 years breathing space before any "labour-light" future threatens.' – Rob Stock, Stuff
'The robots are not at the gates and the future of work could be great, Kinley Salmon says.' – Bruce Munro, Otago Daily Times
