Kinley Salmon
The reality of what artificial intelligence and a robotic workforce will mean for the future of work will be the topic of discussion with a world-leading economist this week.
Dual Harvard and Cambridge graduate, and World Bank economist Kinley Salmon will travel to Gisborne to take part in a live public discussion tomorrow around his new book Jobs, Robots and Us, which examines common perceptions about automation and presents alternative futures for New Zealand.
Born in Nelson, Mr Salmon is the youngest son of noted New Zealand environmentalist Guy Salmon.
He works as an economist in Washington DC. He previously worked as a consultant at McKinsey and Company and has written for The Economist. He holds a Master’s in Public Administration in International Development from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University as well as a Graduate Diploma in Economics and a BA in Social and Political Sciences from the University of Cambridge.
Activate Tairawhiti economic development general manager Steve Breen said it was an opportune time to host Mr Salmon.
“This event serves as a brilliant post- Tairawhiti Gisborne Techweek event. It also provides a vehicle for us to shine a light on the local employment market.”
Tairawhiti was experiencing a labour shortage and with that came real opportunity to secure better wealth and prosperity for the community, by using the shortage to an advantage, Mr Breen said.
“The Jobs, Robots and Us event will cover both how employers can compete internationally to attract emerging talent and how local emerging talent can better align themselves with higher paying, skilled roles.
“As a community, what do we need to focus on? What do employers need to focus on? What are the personal investments youth need to make to secure prosperous futures?”
Other talking points would include adapting to increased automation and what advantages, and disadvantages moves like this posed.
Mr Salmon will be in conversation with ECT chief exeutive Gavin Murphy tomorrow at 5.30pm at the War Memorial Theatre.
“Knowledge is wealth and Kinley’s insights into the changing world of work offers our community a competitive advantagew over those who are not keeping up with this change,” Mr Murphy said.
“Our talk with Kinley will focus on how to apply his international knowledge in a local, national and global context. This is a fantastic event to have in-region and we encourage all those who can make it to do so.”
Tickets are available from Muir’s Bookshop for $5 each.