I’ve written a lot about the changing nature of work over the years, probably because I’ve always felt a little funny about how I’ve made a living. Untold generations of mechanics, tinkers, engineers and craftsmen built my family tree. Then I arrived with aptitude for writing and speaking.
Is this work?
My family always accepted my path. They supported me. They knew if you could pay your bills without permanently staining your skin with oil, or messing up your back, all the better. At least when I was growing up, there was status in being a writer and professor that tradesmen were often denied.
Over time, I came to understand that my skills were more closely related to my father’s abilities than I thought. Creativity, problem-solving, resilience, and professional ethics were important to both of us. Our work was different, perhaps confounding to one another, but we found an adaptive language.
Now we enter the age of artificial intelligence. We confront new questions about work. But we also face questions about humanity itself. What are we in a world dominated by our technology?
In today’s column, I ask a rhetorical question, “Do AIs celebrate Labor Day?” Of course, we know they don’t. And yes, the headline and art sell this as something very topical. What I’m actually talking about is something very old, the humanity in labor. Threatened by tyranny and technology for millennia, working people find themselves at another crossroads in the second quarter of the 21st century.
Read “Do AIs celebrate Labor Day?” in the Monday, Sept. 1, 2025 edition of the Minnesota Star Tribune.
Aaron J. Brown is a columnist and member of the editorial board for the Minnesota Star Tribune. His new book about Hibbing Mayor Victor Power and his momentous fight against the world’s largest corporation will be out soon.
