Nonprofits & Activism

COVID-19 unraveled the workforce. Here’s how to fix it | Mary L. Gray

Visit to get our entire library of TED Talks, transcripts, translations, personalized talk recommendations and more. “We are living through the tech-enabled unraveling of full-time employment itself,” says anthropologist Mary L. Gray. As the pandemic exposes and accelerates the shift to on-demand online labor, Gray takes us inside the jobs being created to solve the…

Published

on

Visit to get our entire library of TED Talks, transcripts, translations, personalized talk recommendations and more.

“We are living through the tech-enabled unraveling of full-time employment itself,” says anthropologist Mary L. Gray. As the pandemic exposes and accelerates the shift to on-demand online labor, Gray takes us inside the jobs being created to solve the problems artificial intelligence can’t handle — and explains why our economic recovery hinges on extending essential benefits to all workers. (This virtual conversation, hosted by TED business curator Corey Hajim, was recorded July 6, 2020.)

The TED Talks channel features the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world’s leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes (or less). Look for talks on Technology, Entertainment and Design — plus science, business, global issues, the arts and more. You’re welcome to link to or embed these videos, forward them to others and share these ideas with people you know. For more information on using TED for commercial purposes (e.g. employee learning, in a film or online course), submit a Media Request here:

49 Comments

  1. Jade Choi - Million Dollar Challenge

    August 27, 2020 at 4:15 pm

    Sick of COVID

  2. Bryan Bishop

    August 27, 2020 at 4:20 pm

    Finally, the Gender Studies graduate is realizing their degree isn’t worth the time & money spent! 12 years of wasted time…😢 Get a real skill and you’ll never be unemployed…

  3. Sannidor

    August 27, 2020 at 4:26 pm

    How to fix a hoax plandemic? I have some ideas, starting from exposing how bogus covid19 tests are – leading to false positives and lies about deaths related to imaginary disease.

    • fiona fiona

      August 27, 2020 at 6:10 pm

      Look into Dutch data, the Netherlands have build a lot of trust in the last decade.

    • Honest Person

      August 27, 2020 at 6:28 pm

  4. Frank S

    August 27, 2020 at 4:40 pm

    Very disappointing Ted

  5. Letdown27

    August 27, 2020 at 4:50 pm

    Mark Cerny looks different.

  6. deborah williford

    August 27, 2020 at 4:58 pm

    Most excellent.

  7. Lisa Love Ministries

    August 27, 2020 at 5:00 pm

    Seek God daily, the way the truth and the life.
    John 14:6
    Romans 10:9

  8. Phil P

    August 27, 2020 at 5:44 pm

    I love watching commies get brained. Especially when they are convicted child rapists.

  9. fiona fiona

    August 27, 2020 at 6:09 pm

    so UBI now.

  10. Honest Person

    August 27, 2020 at 6:16 pm

    Senior Researcher, Microsoft according to Reshaping Work.
    So why the “anthropologist” description?

  11. GreatCutTV

    August 27, 2020 at 6:20 pm

    Not today skynet

  12. Honest Person

    August 27, 2020 at 6:33 pm

    Patent: WO/2020/060606
    This is Mary’s sales pitch.

    • hootsmin

      August 27, 2020 at 8:07 pm

      Not yet, thats level 2 of the gig economy, they got to get the plebs to dip their toes in the water first before they turn up the heat.

  13. Justice's stream

    August 27, 2020 at 6:35 pm

    WTF did I just watch? Get out of your studies and f****** open your eyes to the real world.

  14. brownin329

    August 27, 2020 at 7:25 pm

    You realize the workforce has been an issue way before COVID-19 and not from 20 years ago, more than that. The technology is not robust and customers are pissed off.

  15. Jeanet Repman

    August 27, 2020 at 7:28 pm

    Employees benefit from the social aspect of work. It should be up to the private sector to make their own decisions. Government involvement is unnecessary.

  16. Anushka sen

    August 27, 2020 at 8:11 pm

    best

  17. Лидия Косилова

    August 27, 2020 at 8:26 pm

    #savetedrussia

  18. Wood Work

    August 27, 2020 at 8:26 pm

    That’s the problem women want you to hit it and quit it. And that might be fine and dandy, but then the kid only has one parent homes and don’t understand. Then you apply what you learned to the work force not good at home, doesn’t work. Takes two to do anything with spirit. Just my thoughts.

  19. Мурад Мурадов

    August 27, 2020 at 8:48 pm

    #Tedнарусском

  20. Brontes

    August 27, 2020 at 8:58 pm

    #savetedrussia

  21. thecaneater

    August 27, 2020 at 9:26 pm

    The Vid did not do anything to the workforce. It was the gov’t shutdowns and insane restrictions that caused changes.

  22. Gemma Salmon

    August 27, 2020 at 10:22 pm

    When the videos are the same size, their shelves line up perfectly. Very satisfying.

  23. Loki Pit

    August 27, 2020 at 10:29 pm

    #saveTEDrussia

  24. Waldemar Dios

    August 28, 2020 at 12:23 am

    #TEDнаРусском

  25. Мира Захват

    August 28, 2020 at 7:55 am

    #Tedнарусском

  26. Anrew Zhakevich

    August 28, 2020 at 8:06 am

    #savetedrussia

  27. RamblingRose

    August 28, 2020 at 8:26 am

    Hey Mary, good work on the research side of bing.com/covid

  28. For You

    August 28, 2020 at 8:32 am

    #SaveTEDRussia

  29. EvilNeon

    August 28, 2020 at 8:58 am

    2:42 jokes on you, I don’t like people. I just want to get to where I need to be.

  30. Luanstechel Kim

    August 28, 2020 at 11:05 am

    #savetedrussia

  31. Luanstechel Kim

    August 28, 2020 at 11:08 am

    I beg you to return the TED in Russian💔💔💔

  32. Sara Meet

    August 28, 2020 at 11:10 am

    #TEDinRussian 💔

  33. Mihail E

    August 28, 2020 at 11:13 am

    #Tedнарусском How can you do this to TED in Russian? You are positioning yourself as an educational foundation for people! Allow me to upload your videos with translation. If you have some kind of dislike for Russia, then you should know that the Russian people have nothing to do with the governing power in the country and there are a lot of good people among Russians who respect Americans!

  34. Nika Berzan

    August 28, 2020 at 11:24 am

    #Tedнарусском

  35. Nika Berzan

    August 28, 2020 at 11:24 am

    #savetedrussia

  36. Emperor

    August 28, 2020 at 11:34 am

    И чем Вам #TEDнаРусском помешал? Чем?

  37. Азим Розикулов

    August 28, 2020 at 11:53 am

    #TEDнарусском

  38. Jon Schofield

    August 28, 2020 at 12:32 pm

    as a programmer i would be devastated losing my full time job and having to work from one contract to another from home. its much more stressful not having that steady paycheck and spending time lining up the next contract on top of the current one. even with employment insurance its almost inevitable that it will be a rollercoaster it seems like. Not understanding the company you work for on a very deep and experienced level is stressful

  39. Tatyana Kulikova

    August 28, 2020 at 12:56 pm

    Welcome to my channel😊

  40. Chris Murray

    August 28, 2020 at 1:20 pm

    Mary, thanks for sharing but let’s not miss the point here, covid pandemic is Bullshit!Excuse my very direct characterisation of this hoax that has been foisted on us by those who stand to gain from it. Why waste time philosophising about ” social change” etc and instead perhaps address the elephant in the room which is the swift bypassing of scientific fact and a rapid appeal to mass communication rather than the actual CONTENT of these communications. Instead of playing the game of sheep like following of trends in political thinking and propaganda with little time left for critical thinking ( accuracy of information rather than availability of information. Exploitation happens only where ignorance prevails, and to order or impose from on high is to exploit quantities of info rather than quality or accuracy of info. While you and others fiddle about “oh how will we organise our businesses” while Rome burns in a fire of mass propaganda and exercises in mass mind control via a media controlled access to good facts by swamping people with a plethora of falsehoods to divert and dilute the attention of the citizenry until those who are ready to sell a ” new system” ( which of course benefits only a few power players) If you focussed your considerable abilities on this kind of critical approach you would avoid the impurities and falsehoods that are being foisted on the whole world,; it’s a great magic trick: make everyone so afraid and non stop deliveries of media can misdirect the public at large while these power players are making out like bandits… literally.As I said , if you focussed on this you probably would not be given any work, so this is how it is done( the king’s new clothes) While you scramble to wonder how we will move ahead in this “new reality) you are distracted from questioning the veracity of this new ” reality” So please become part of the solution not part of joining in supporting the problem. While you analyse new approaches to the labour market , you are distracted from questioning blind unquestioning adherence to the blatant power grab that is happening in front of you! Don’t think this is happening? Think it is a ” conspiracy theory” not to scrutinise the info you are given? I guess it’s true that intelligent people are the easiest to fool( any magician knows that) The only difference is magicians are more honest than the media and political players that have pulled off this con job, because they don’t claim to actually be magical, but the IT industries, the pharmaceutical giants the vaccine makers and pushers( at the moment some of the same companies) and opportunistic politicians along with the usual religious nuts and blinkered academics are all benefitting by falling in line with those powers that seek ever more close control of our lives so they can sell us God knows what. If you don’t cooperate you will be out of a job anyway so stop hiding in your ivory tower and start using your mind, your expertise, and your intelligence, instead of passively bending over and taking it. Have some guts( it might cost you to go against the flow but at least your conscience will be clear.Remember following orders is only a Nuremberg excuse, so harden up and help instead of helping those who have too much power already. No offence intended, just trying to appeal to your better nature which I’m sure you will find if you can pull your head out of the informational sand.( apologies for my poor typing and sentence construction but these digital devices are deliberately user unfriendly)

  41. Наталья Денисова

    August 28, 2020 at 2:21 pm

    #saveTEDRussia

  42. Жемчужина

    August 28, 2020 at 2:40 pm

    #TEDнарусском не удаляйте пожалуйста канал ТЕД на русском, он полезен многим кто не владеет английским языком

  43. ddd kkk

    August 28, 2020 at 6:09 pm

    Hi. The hashtag SaveTedRussia is written by people from the Soviet Union. Very few people speak English fluently. There is a channel on Russian-language YouTube that translates original Ted videos. Monetization on this channel is disabled, translators live on donations from the patron. All videos in Russian contain links to the original TED videos. The other day, the translators received an email that Ted would block the YouTube channel. A huge number of people who do not speak English and watch Ted in translation will be deprived of excellent educational content. Therefore, they urge leaders not to restrict access to knowledge because of language discrimination. They offer to take popular translators to the TED team and continue to please Russian-speaking viewers with new videos. Thank you for your attention.
    #savetedrussia

  44. Дмитрий Кострюков

    August 28, 2020 at 6:16 pm

    #saveTEDRussia

  45. 5 Minute Psychology

    August 28, 2020 at 6:52 pm

    We are all necessary parts of the society. Never before have mental health specialists had so many patients to help! That is to YouTube psychological knowledge can be shared with all viewers for free! This is the silver lining of COVID19.

  46. Anna - Let's Get Acquainted

    August 28, 2020 at 10:53 pm

    0:33 prodigious

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Trending

Exit mobile version