Jeff Schatten, associate professor of business administration at Washington and Lee University, and W&L alumna Teresa Aires ’19 collaborated on a book titled “AI Will Take Your Job (and it’s for the Best): Embracing the New Social Contract for the Age of AI.”
The publication, produced by Emerald Publishing, hit bookshelves on April 17. The book explores the transformative impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on work, society and economic structures, offering a comprehensive analysis of how AI is reshaping the understanding of employment, innovation and social welfare.
“Our book introduces the AI Growth and Redistribution Impact Doctrine (AI-GRID), a framework that addresses the challenges and opportunities presented by AI,” said Aires, an organizational psychologist and doctoral candidate at the Nova School of Business and Economics in Portugal. “The work brings together perspectives from economics, technology and social policy, providing a unique interdisciplinary approach to understanding the AI revolution.”
Schatten and Aires have collaborated on several projects since she graduated from W&L in 2019. While on sabbatical in Spain during the 2023-24 academic year, Schatten approached Aires about working together on the book.
“The idea for this book began with an observation about how people were talking about AI,” said Schatten, whose research focuses on the intersection of artificial intelligence (AI), organizational behavior and leadership. “Just a few years ago, there was broad agreement among economists and technologists that, like the invention of the wheel, electricity or the internet, AI would change the kinds of work we do but not the total number of jobs. Some roles would disappear, others would emerge — it would balance out. But as with most complex questions that draw quick consensus, there’s often a more interesting story beneath the surface.”
The book explores this different angle, noting that AI isn’t simply another tool, but a realm of human cognition that mimics complex thought, something that has generally separated the human race.
“As these systems grow more capable, even surpassing human performance in key areas, they stand to reshape the structure of the labor market in ways previous technologies did not,” said Schatten. “But the story isn’t only about displacement. The productivity and abundance AI can generate also present a powerful opportunity — especially for those historically excluded from the benefits of technological change. That dual possibility — of disruption and inclusion — frames the questions at the heart of this book: how businesses will adjust, how governments might respond and how our relationship with work could shift. As traditional roles evolve, the future of work will depend heavily on how organizations foster employee commitment, sustain engagement and rethink management in environments increasingly shaped by automation. The future workforce will be a hybrid of humans and AI collaborating side-byside, requiring models of leadership. Beneath it all lies a deeper concern: What does it mean to live a meaningful life in an age when intelligence is no longer uniquely human?”
