“In 2009 13% of the US population were either self-employed or working as independent contractors, in 2016 this number had doubled. And from Silicon Valley to the US Supreme Court, the rights of workers are under attack. At the same time, robots capable of driving cars, assembling goods, and caring for the elderly are poised to put millions out of work. Black people and poor people will undoubtedly bear the brunt of this automation. In response to these threats, conversations about Universal Basic Income have become mainstream. But we cannot achieve the goals of economic justice and equality without seriously reckoning with the history of slavery in the United States and the need for reparations. How do we protect workers as work is transformed by technology? And how do we address the need for reparations in a seismically changing economy?

In relation, a renaissance is occurring in Pittsburgh, once reckoned as the steel city. Transitioning from a late stage service industry, Pittsburgh is poised to become a global tech hub in one of the country’s most livable metropolitan areas. Automation is going to affect the workforce leading into health care, transit work, service work etc. We need to prepare the Black community and low income communities, for the Future of work in the Age of Humanics. ”