What can a dignified future for labor look like?

In a new blog post, program director Wendy Ake describes the genealogy of automated decision-making and its goals throughout recent history of replacing human labor with machines to maximize corporate profits at the expense of workers and the well-being of society at large. The fundamental questions posed by Artificial Intelligence are not related to technological developments, Wendy argues, but rather are shared questions related to the planet and the economy. Read the blog post here.

The piece accompanies a new report, titled, "Automation, Opportunity, & Belonging: Vision and foundation for a better society," which was produced following a year-long convening series co-hosted by the Othering & Belonging Institute and the Gerald Huff Fund for Humanity. That project is anchored in an effort to explore systems that will determine how automation relates to the future of work. The document focuses on the urgent need to change systems related to the planet, people, and the economy. Read the report here.

ICYMI: Fighting Poverty with SNAP

Last week we held an hour-long live event to launch our new report on the need to bolster the social safety net, titled, "Fighting Poverty with SNAP: Reassessing the Tool Kit for a Unified Movement for Economic Justice." Click here to watch a recording of the event, and download the report here.

Last month the Othering & Belonging Institute and the Poverty & Race Research Action Council submitted comments, along with the law firm Klein Hornig, supporting the Biden Administration’s proposed reinstatement of the Fair Housing Act’s “discriminatory effects” liability standard. Our letter emphasized the importance of the proposed rule’s restoration of the “perpetuation of segregation” standard of liability, which has long been a core part of Fair Housing Act jurisprudence, but which the Trump Administration had tried to erase in its version of the rule. Click here to read the letter.

O&B Conference one month away!

Our 2021 Othering & Belonging Conference is only about a month away! Visit our conference page to register for the event or learn about the many speakers, performers, learning labs, and other activities we have lined up.

Other OBI Updates

Upcoming events

• Sept. 21: Defending against the ravages of disinformation
• Oct. 1: Symposium in Honor of Michael Omi on the Occasion of His Retirement
• Oct. 18-19: 2021 Othering & Belonging Conference

In the news

• Our research on racial residential segregation was cited in this new piece in Politico, titled, "It’s Time to Dismantle America’s Residential Caste System."
• Faculty scholar Erin Kerrison was mentioned in this article by the Daily Californian, titled, “UC Berkeley researchers win $2M grant for criminal justice datasets.”
• Faculty scholar Jesse Rothstein wrote an op-ed for San Francisco Examiner, titled, “Why Cal (not Harvard) is America’s top college.” 
• Faculty scholar Hilary Hoynes was interviewed in this article by The New York Times, titled, “U.S. Poverty Fell Last Year as Government Aid Made Up for Lost Jobs.” 
• Program director Samir Gambhir was interviewed for this article in Half Moon Bay Review, titled, “Single-family zoning excludes many families.”

Othering & Belonging Institute
University of California, Berkeley
460 Stephens Hall
Tel: 510-642-3326
Berkeley, CA 94720
United States

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