The report, produced in conjunction with a number of leading economic, social policy and technology professors, delves into four key considerations of the impact of technological progress on employees, businesses and society at large.

The first chapter looks at what technological change means for the future of work, concluding that contrary to popular belief, there will be no shortage of work in contemporary economies.

Rafael Lalive and Daniel Oesch, professors in economics and sociology respectively at the University of Lausanne, commented: “Rather than a jobless economy, the two great challenges in the labor market may then be massive dislocation on the one hand and the distribution of productivity gains on the other. While technological change will not lead to the end of work, it will certainly displace people from occupations and sectors.”

The second chapter assesses how to make A.I. transformation more likely to succeed by looking at past examples of innovative ways of investing in artificial intelligence. It delves into examples such as BMW with Project i, Amazon and predictive shopping, Sony’s use of transistor technology as a disrupter to RCA’s dominance in the television market and the emergence of new entrants to the financial industry leveraging digital interfaces.

Howard Yu, LEGO professor of management and innovation at the IMD Business School and Jialu Shan Research Associate at the Global Center for Digital Business Transformation, said: “It takes more than just vision, belief, passion and experimentation in A.I. to transform a company. It takes a pocket so deep that it requires other people’s money to act on that aspiration. It’s an unconventional approach taken during an unconventional time.” 

The third chapter sets out the need for economic security in the gig economy. The growing number of freelance workers replacing traditional employees provides much greater freedom, flexibility and control from self-employment, but it is imperative that these non-traditional workers have their rights and economic security protected.

Giuliano Bonoli, professor of social policy at University of Lausanne said: “The idea that social protection needs to be adapted to the changing nature of work is now firmly embedded in public debates. The challenge before us is to preserve the high levels of social cohesion and economic security achieved in the past in this newly emerging economic and technological world.”

The final section looks at the legal and ethical challenges posed by artificial intelligence and discusses how can we ensure that modern computer technology will improve the working world and ultimately benefit people of future generations.

Bettina Hummer, professor of social law and legal German, University of Lausanne, said: “Legislators must be aware of the complexities surrounding information technology and artificial intelligence and try to gauge their very “nature” in order to define the aims that regulation should pursue.”

Urs Rohner, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Credit Suisse Group and Chairman of the Credit Suisse Research Institute, commented: “Big data and advances in computing power have triggered a technological revolution that have enormous bearing on the workplace and the labor market. Machines and robots are improving their capacities rapidly through artificial intelligence (AI) and innovations in design and structure. How businesses navigate these changes whilst ensuring clients are connected, empowered and protected will be both the challenge and opportunity ahead.”