Short Abstract

How will automation, robotisation, AI, and changing workplaces redefine human purpose and identity? This panel explores how anthropologists can redefine their roles in a post-work society and help others find meaning beyond employment.

Long Abstract

According to the OECD, McKinsey, WEF and other think tanks, 10–30% of jobs are at high risk of disappearing by 2030 due to automation, robotisation, and AI-based solutions. As technological systems take over more cognitive and manual tasks, societies face a profound challenge: how to preserve a sense of meaning, purpose, dignity and belonging when traditional forms of work no longer structure everyday life?

Workplaces will continue to change rapidly. Office environments are being reimagined, remote work is almost the norm, and digital nomadism is altering how workers relate to geography, time and sociability. These changes push the boundaries of work-life balance and raise questions about belonging, stability and social connection in increasingly flexible yet fragmented worlds.

This panel explores the redefinition of work and the experiential and ethical implications of this transformation. The central questions are: How can we redefine human purpose beyond employment in the age of AI? How will everyday people innovate to redefine work and purpose themselves as conventional work roles decline? What will happen to anthropologists in the future – will they lose or retain their jobs? How might anthropologists both reinvent their work, help create new jobs and support people in finding meaning in a post-work society?

Keywords: post-work societies; post-work futures; future of work; AI and automation; anthropologists' roles; meaning and purpose

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