01
The Question
Can jobs really be distilled to data points?
About This Conversation
As we enter a world of artificial intelligence, the question of what should be automated looms before us. Models need clear, objective metrics to train on. But, can jobs really be distilled to data points? In her book, The Last Human Job: The Work of Connecting in a Disconnected World, Prof. Allison Pugh asserts many jobs have a relational component that can’t be caught in the metrics. In this episode, Prof. Pugh warns that devaluing connective labor leads to automation that overlooks the core issues and leaves us more isolated.
Conversation Map
A guided path through the episode, adapted from the original topic list while preserving the questions that make the show feel like itself.
02
Undervaluation of Connective Labor
03
Automation of Connective Labor
04
Role of Data in Education
05
Educational Inequality and Standardized Testing
06
Artificial Intelligence and Relationships
07
Growing Demand for Connection
Recurring Question
"What books have had an impact on you?"
For Young Listeners
"What advice do you have for teenagers?”
Guest Bio
Allison Pugh is a Research Professor of Sociology at Johns Hopkins University, and the author of four books, most recently The Last Human Job: The Work of Connecting in a Disconnected World (Princeton 2024). The 2024-5 Vice President of the American Sociological Association, Pugh was faculty at the University of Virginia for 17 years before moving to Hopkins this summer. She is a former journalist, and her writing has appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Times, The New Republic, and other outlets.
She served as a US diplomat in Honduras, cofounded a charter school in Oakland, waited on tables at the US Tennis Open, packed salmon roe in Alaska, and was an intern at Ms. Magazine.
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