#TheLastHumanJob

With #TheLastHumanJob coming out in paperback January 27, I'm excited to share some upcoming appearances - it's going to be a busy spring! Come join the conversation about the value of human connection. For more info see allisonpugh.com or press.princeton.edu/books/paperb...

A terrific piece about a vital issue. "Children need our human attention — especially in this age of social isolation and political trauma.". And not just children! #TheLastHumanJob

screenshot of title page for recent review essay on The Last Human Job

So grateful for Judy Wajcman's review essay on #TheLastHumanJob. "It is hard to convey how rich and evocative...this book is. It is beautifully written & so immersive that reading it I felt I got to know several of the interviewees personally...The book could not be more welcome"

Furthermore, they're fields where human beings do connective labor, the primary contribution humans make in an AI world.

This is very short sighted. Did AI suggest this policy move?

#TheLastHumanJob

Escaping Perfectionism - Hidden Brain Media Perfectionism is everyone’s favorite flaw. It’s easy to assume that our push to be perfect is what leads to academic, athletic and professional success. But psychologist Thomas Curran says perfectioni...

Thanks to the Hidden Brain for revisiting #TheLastHumanJob! Still getting used to the personal angle that Shankar prefers: Preschool! Garlic! A false start in my dissertation! But I get how it helps the ideas come alive...

Check it out! My part starts at 50:10

hiddenbrain.org/podcast/esca...

Our crisis is not loneliness but human beings becoming invisible | Aeon Essays Our crisis of work and technology is one in which too many people feel that nobody sees them as a fellow human being

Who profits from loneliness? Why are we being sold a "crisis of loneliness" and what else is actually going on? See my essay for Aeon based on #TheLastHumanJob

Our crisis is not loneliness but human beings becoming invisible | Aeon Essays aeon.co/essays/our-c...

"Connective labor is not just a task, Pugh says, nor is it reducible to measurable ends. It is an inalienable part of humanity itself, without which the social fabric is left threadbare and thin."

A thoughtful discussion of #TheLastHumanJob and three other books on AI in Public Books!

As predicted by #TheLastHumanJob...

You need people to talk to people

"After claiming that its AI chatbot could do the work of 700 reps, Klarna is turning back to people to help w/ customer service work."

Klarna changes its AI tune customerexperiencedive.com/news/klarna-re… via @cxdive

Opinion | Making Empathy a Weapon Empathy without ethics isn’t virtuous. It’s manipulative. And it’s starting to feel all too commonplace.

"We’re entering a world where “empathetic” algorithms outperform managers at recognizing distress but lack a moral compass to decide what to do with it. And if we aren’t careful, we’ll soon mistake performance for presence." It's like he read #TheLastHumanJob! So good
www.nytimes.com/2025/05/04/o...

Join the conversation re: “Connective Labor,” a concept rooted in empathy, connection, & mutual recognition of our humanity. Understand how AI & auto-systems erode this connection.
Find a way to more human-centered future for all.
#KERUnit #thelasthumanjob #TPRTownHall #VictorMontori #AllisonPugh

Relationships 2.0: The Price of Disconnection Podcast Episode · Hidden Brain · 03/31/2025 · 50m

Thanks to Hidden Brain for the deep dive into #TheLastHumanJob & the importance of seeing the other/being seen. So glad they made time for powerful stories to convey the stakes involved

PS I guess it's clear: don't get in the way of my cookies

podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id10...

Opinion | The Tech Fantasy That Powers A.I. Is Running on Fumes A.I. is just what we need in the post-fact era: less research and more predicting what we want to hear.

"The political problem with A.I.’s hype is that its most compelling use case is starving the host — fewer teachers, fewer degrees, fewer workers, fewer healthy information environments."

@tressiemcphd.bsky.social strikes again! Re: how AI threatens #TheLastHumanJob

www.nytimes.com/2025/03/29/o...

We Disrupt This Broadcast Host Gabe González takes a dive into the unsettling corporate world of the Peabody award-winning show Severance. Through the dystopian and satirical concept of splitting one’s consciousness into an “i...

OK, Ben Stiller and Adam Scott and... Allison Pugh? Kind of surreal to be guests together on this Peabody Awards podcast. Hear what Severance has to do with connective labor! #TheLastHumanJob

play.prx.org/listen

Connective Labor - What Machines Can't Replace in Our Disconnected World: Prof. Allison Pugh (Author of "The Last Human Job" | Prof. of Sociology @ Johns Hopkins University)(Ep. 127) — aimingforthemo... Prof. Allison Pugh 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...

"Too many schools are better at counting students than seeing them." I've had a lot of interviews for #TheLastHumanJob, but this one is the only one where we also talked about the Joy Metric, or how teens can emerge with the most powerful tool for adulthood: knowing who they are

bit.ly/4jhkP6j

An extraordinary experience, giving this Public Lecture at LSE, aided by the brilliant @sonialivingstone.bsky.social & an engaged audience. Together we can protect/ preserve what humans contribute (& what's missing from the AI conversation so far): human relationship

#TheLastHumanJob

Musk and His Techies Are Purging Workers to Replace Them With Automation and AI Background Briefing goes far beyond the headlines and deep under the radar to bring forward truths unheard elsewhere in American media. Background Briefing features international and national news, ex

So glad to appear on the Background Briefing show today, to talk about AI in government & #TheLastHumanJob.

(BTW this isn't Revenge of the Nerds because all the nerds I know are devastated by the evisceration of US research thanks to the recent NIH directive).
soundcloud.com/user-8304426...

The Majority Report Download MP3

I had fun on The Majority Report podcast yesterday, talking about #TheLastHumanJob - and about the "Cliff Notes degrees" that people are going to be getting, if educators are not more careful about introducing AI in higher ed (e.g. the CSU deal announced this week)

Agree! Arm yourself against the hype! I wrote about this in my book #TheLastHumanJob

Beautiful essay, worth your time. My favorite part below, asking just what is the goal of "disrupting" education, what is the thing we're speeding to, when learning itself is part of being human, and gives life meaning? #TheLastHumanJob Thank you @philipchristman.bsky.social https://buff.ly/4jAw2j5

How Good Are AI ‘Clinicians’ at Medical Conversations? Researchers design a more realistic test to evaluate AI’s clinical communication skills

The hype retrenchment begins (but you won't find it splashed across the media).

Turns out medical AI might pass the MCAT, but decoding spontaneous human interactions like the ones real clinicians have to interpret? Not so much. #TheLastHumanJob

https://buff.ly/4fLM06W

"Allison Pugh expertly & eloquently sheds light onto many corners of AI’s terra incognita...It's hard to imagine a better book that can show us just how (anti)social AI can be & how social we really are."

Thrilled by this beautiful review by Mona Sloane in @publicbooks.bsky.social #TheLastHumanJob

Human Connection: The Soul of Our Social Architecture with Allison Pugh PhD Explore human connection, the soul of our social architecture. Learn how connective labor fosters the structure of human connection.

We really got into the devastating heartbreak of data-ified doctoring, and the burnout exodus it has led to, in this podcast interview. Primary care is #TheLastHumanJob! Please forgive all the "kind of" etc., sheesh these verbal tics

harvestinghappiness.substack.com/p/human-conn...

The Rich Can Afford Personal Care. The Rest Will Have to Make Do With AI From personal trainers to in-person therapy, only the wealthy have access to human connection. What are the options for the less advantaged?

The Rich Can Afford Personal Care. The Rest Will Have to Make Do With AI www.wired.com/story/wealth... we are all talking about #thelasthumanjob Allison Pugh #scenarios #humanity #digitalethics #futureofcare c @sayhii.io

Opinion | Nurses, Chaplains and Teachers Should Not Be Replaced With Technology We’re increasingly becoming a society where very wealthy people get human care, like concierge medicine and private schools with tiny class sizes.

Here's a terrific NYT column on #TheLastHumanJob by @allisonpugh.bsky.social and her important findings on the loss of "connective labor" and the degradation of modern life for everyone but those in the super-affluent classes.

We're in the NYTimes today! I'm so grateful to @jessgrose.bsky.social for her piece on #TheLastHumanJob, spreading the word about the stratification of human contact! AI is just making some long-standing trends more obvious: the time to value human interaction is now

Holiday 2024 Reading List | by PS editors - Project Syndicate PS editors highlight recent recommendations by PS contributors that belong on your holiday shopping list.

So honored and moved that the book that Anne-Marie Slaughter recommends for your holiday 2024 reading list is #TheLastHumanJob! That's an incredible feeling, to hear that from someone I respect so much, so dedicated to prioritizing human care.

See it here: www.project-syndicate.org/onpoint/holi...

Researchers claim AI chat bot can conduct interviews at scale The freely available tool performs strongly in trials against human interviewers and traditional online surveys.

You thought they wouldn't come for you. "Sure, AI can coach, counsel, even teach -- but it can't conduct a profound research interview that elicits someone else's truth." Well, qualmeth folks, the time to articulate what is special about human work is now #TheLastHumanJob

The last book event of the year for #TheLastHumanJob and I was honored to have it at the 92nd St Y! And woohoo, a feisty crowd of irrepressible NY seniors make for a lively Q&A

New York folks! The last NYC book event for #TheLastHumanJob will be next Thursday, at 2:15 p.m., at the 92nd Street Y. I'll be in conversation w/ therapist extraordinaire Martina Verba. Join us as we consider how to preserve and protect human relationship

Our host is: Dr. Christina Gessler, the producer of the Academic Life podcast. She holds a PhD in history, which she uses to explore what stories we tell and what happens to those we never tell.

New podcast released! This one went places no podcast has yet re my own path in writing this book. A broader conversation about #TheLastHumanJob, how/why it's under threat today & what it was like to interview these master-connectors.
Thx to Christina Gessler!

newbooksnetwork.com/when-we-prio...