The Work Ahead
Machines, Skills, and U.S. Leadership in the Twenty-First Century
Updated April 2018
The challenge facing the United States today is to rebuild the links among work, opportunity, and economic security for all Americans in the face of accelerating technological change.
Report Highlights

Technology and globalization will continue to reshape the workforce in unexpected ways. Explore the challenges and potential solutions.

The Work Ahead at a Glance

The world is in the midst of a transformation in the nature of work, as smart machines, artificial intelligence, new technologies, and global competition remake how people do their jobs and pursue their careers. The Work Ahead: Machines, Skills, and U.S. Leadership in the Twenty-First Century focuses on how to rebuild the links among work, opportunity, and economic security for all Americans in the face of accelerating change. The United States needs to create new work opportunities, better career paths, and higher incomes for its people, while developing a highly skilled and adaptable workforce. To prosper and to lead, the United States needs to find new ways to meet the workforce challenges of the twenty-first century.

The Word Ahead
About the Task Force

The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) sponsors Independent Task Forces to assess issues of critical importance to U.S. foreign policy. Task Force members aim to reach a meaningful consensus on policy and are solely responsible for the content of their report. CFR thanks the Arconic Foundation for its generous support of the online presentation of this report.

Chairs
Penny Pritzker
Penny Pritzker
Founder and Chairman, PSP Partners (Former Secretary of Commerce)
John Engler
John Engler
Interim President, Michigan State University (Former Governor of Michigan)
Authors
Bernard L. Schwartz Senior Fellow, CFR
International Affairs Fellow, CFR
Independent Task Force Program Director, CFR
Task Force Members
  • Chike Aguh EveryoneOn
  • Edward Alden (project director) Council on Foreign Relations
  • Eric R. Biel Fair Labor Association
  • Allen Blue LinkedIn
  • John Engler (co-chair) Michigan State University
  • Diana Farrell JPMorgan Chase Institute
  • Kian Gohar XPRIZE Foundation
  • Gordon Hanson University of California, San Diego's School of Global Policy and Strategy
  • Robert M. Kimmitt WilmerHale
  • Susan Lund McKinsey Global Institute
  • Jack Markell
  • Jamie P. Merisotis Lumina Foundation
  • Rodrick T. Miller Ascendant Global
  • Eduardo J. Padrón Miami Dade College
  • Penny Pritzker (co-chair) PSP Partners
  • Cecilia E. Rouse Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs
  • Lee J. Styslinger III Altec Inc.
  • Hemant Taneja General Catalyst
  • Laura Taylor-Kale (deputy project director) Council on Foreign Relations