Technology can help fix a “fundamentally broken” labor market, according to Youngjin Yoo, Ph.D., faculty co-director, xLab, Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University. Yoo, who holds several positions at the university, says having a postsecondary degree doesn’t necessarily signal to employers what job seekers actually know or the skills they have.

He sat down with WorkingNation’s editor-in-chief Ramona Schindelheim for WorkingNation Overheard at CES 2024 in Las Vegas to share discuss how technology could change how employers look at job seekers.

Yoo says there could be a better understanding of a person’s knowledge if we use technology to “create an infrastructure where everything you do potentially from K to 12 and beyond – learning-related activities ” – can be collected and stored by individuals themselves.

Additionally, on another topic, Yoo says companies need to be more mindful of the ethical implications of the ongoing digital transformation through AI of our workforce and our society. Companies can leverage technology to improve service to its customers, but he also warns of bad players. “Unfortunately, many companies do not actually think about ethical use or responsible use of technology as the first thing to consider. They want to make money. They want to create value for shareholders, end users, and customers.”

He continues, “You want to create an AI model or hyper-personal service for your clients, and, obviously, we need to leverage your data in a way. But how might we rearchitect your technology backend so that you actually do not have to collect all the data?

“I would say if you just simply compare what we’re trying to do with what is possible – the state-of-the-art way of doing things through a centralized data warehouse – you cannot compete with that. It’s far more efficient. We can do this.”

Learn more about Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University.
Learn more about xLab.
Learn more about CES 2024.

Funding for WorkingNation Overheard at CES 2024 was provided, in part, by Walmart.