Meet Your New Coworker: Employment & AI

[Note: these questions were written in the summer of 2026. It seems that every aspect of AI’s development, usage, and impact is evolving at a rapid pace. Take that into account and use relevant, recent information in formulating your answers and arguments.]

1. Many observers believe that, like with the Industrial Revolution and many other major economic upheavals over the years, AI will ultimately create more jobs than it will destroy. Others predict catastrophic job losses for those who are not educated or for those who are, for the young and the old, for the blue-collar and the white-collar, and so on. Do some research on your own and determine whether the best current evidence supports one side or the other. At this point in time, can we know with any degree of certainty what the impact of AI on the workforce will be? Explain.
2. Bill Gates has projected that AI may lead us to have a two-day workweek rather than a five-day workweek. Again, do your homework and give your best answer to the question of whether this is a realistic prediction. If so, what might be the consequences of such a change? Does a two-day workweek appeal to you?
3. One speaker asks her students: “Is it ethical to create technology that eliminate human jobs?” What is your answer to that question? Is your answer impacted by the type of job you have or are training for? Explain.
4. The speakers disagree as to whether knowing how to use AI will protect you from losing your job. Again, do some research as to the most recent developments regarding Ai’s impact on employment and explain your view on this controversial question.
5. If we assume that AI development is likely to lead to very substantial job losses and economic dislocation, what responsibility do AI companies have to avoid these losses? Should they refuse to release new models that will have this impact? Is it realistic to expect them to do so?
6. If those substantial job losses and economic dislocation are likely to occur soon, what responsibility does the government have to act? Which level of government – federal, state, local? And what, exactly, should governments do? Act now to prevent those job losses? Act later to provide economic support to those who lose their jobs to AI? Give specifics.
7. Would you want to live in a world where there was no productive job for you to perform, even if the government gave you enough money every year to live comfortably? Do you find such a life appealing? Why or why not?
8. Draft a summary of a science fiction novel where the central conceit is that AI has rendered all human work superfluous. No human is needed for any white-collar or blue-collar job. What would living in such a world be like? How would people react?
9. As of summer 2026, big tech companies are beginning to lay off tens of thousands of employees who have been rendered unnecessary because of AI. Do some research to determine if these firms have assumed any special responsibility to soften the blow to these employees. What did you find? How ethical (or unethical) have these actions (or non-actions) been, in your opinion? Have you seen governments undertake any special programs for this purpose?
10. Elon Musk has suggested that a universal income (at a high level—not just the Universal Basic Income that is often talked about) is the obvious answer to the jobless future that AI may bring. Do you agree? Will this be affordable? Will it be possible? Who should pay it? Who should receive it? Explain.

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AI Ethics Companion Handbook

This e-book compiles all the resources on AI ethics available on the Ethics Unwrapped website. It will continue to be updated as new materials are published.

A recent resource from Ethics Unwrapped is a book, Behavioral Ethics in Practice: Why We Sometimes Make the Wrong Decisions, written by Cara Biasucci and Robert Prentice. This accessible book is amply footnoted with behavioral ethics studies and associated research. It also includes suggestions at the end of each chapter for related Ethics Unwrapped videos and case studies. Some instructors use this resource to educate themselves, while others use it in lieu of (or in addition to) a textbook.

The most recent article written by Cara Biasucci and Robert Prentice describes the basics of behavioral ethics and introduces Ethics Unwrapped videos and supporting materials along with teaching examples. It also includes data on the efficacy of Ethics Unwrapped for improving ethics pedagogy across disciplines. Published in Journal of Business Law and Ethics Pedagogy (Vol. 1, August 2018), it can be downloaded here: “Teaching Behavioral Ethics (Using “Ethics Unwrapped” Videos and Educational Materials).”

Cara Biasucci also wrote a chapter on integrating Ethics Unwrapped in higher education, which can be found in the latest edition of Teaching Ethics: Instructional Models, Methods and Modalities for University Studies. The chapter includes examples of how Ethics Unwrapped is used at various universities.

An article written by Ethics Unwrapped authors Minette Drumwright, Robert Prentice, and Cara Biasucci introduce key concepts in behavioral ethics and approaches to effective ethics instruction—including sample classroom assignments. Published in the Decision Sciences Journal of Innovative Education, it can be downloaded here: “Behavioral Ethics and Teaching Ethical Decision Making.”

A detailed article written by Robert Prentice, with extensive resources for teaching behavioral ethics, was published in Journal of Legal Studies Education and can be downloaded here: “Teaching Behavioral Ethics.”

Another article by Robert Prentice, discussing how behavioral ethics can improve the ethicality of human decision-making, was published in the Notre Dame Journal of Law, Ethics & Public Policy. It can be downloaded here: “Behavioral Ethics: Can It Help Lawyers (And Others) Be their Best Selves?”

A dated (but still serviceable) introductory article about teaching behavioral ethics can be accessed through Google Scholar by searching: Prentice, Robert A. 2004. “Teaching Ethics, Heuristics, and Biases.” Journal of Business Ethics Education 1 (1): 57-74.