eric brynjoffsson, thank you for coming on. >> thank you. >> we'll bring you some of the strangest sports in the world next. n this this this al jazeera america gives you the total news experience anytime, anywhere. more on every screen. digital, mobile, social. visit aljazeera.com. follow @ajam on twitter. and like aljazeera america on facebook for more stories, more access, more conversations. so you don't just stay on top of the news, go deeper and get more perspectives on every issue. al jazeera america. >> today's data dive, takes a look at the most bizarre sports in the world. the annua 1576 stairs, the winns take about ten minutes but the run is tame compared to truly weird sporting events around the world. and we're not just talking about hotdog eating contests, they're pretty tame when it compares chess boxing. brains and brawn. one round involves four minutes of chess, fold by two minutes of boxing. it's billion huge on social media and youtube. >>> another nutty event is the annual wife carrying competition, that's been a finnish competition since 1972. there's a division for s

eric brynjoffsson, appreciate you coming on. >> thank you. >> today's data dive takes a look at the most bizarre sports in the world. the empire state building run took place on wednesday night. it's an annual sprint up the 1576 stairs that ascend to the 86th floor where the tower's lower observation deck is. the winners take about ten minutes but the run is tame compared to truly weird sporting events around the world. and we're not just talking about hotdog eating contests, they're pretty mainstream when it compares to chess boxing. it combines both in its name, the perfect combination of brains and brawn. one round involves four minutes of chess, fold by two minutes of boxing. the opponents compete for 11 rounds. it's become huge on social media an youtube. >>> another nutty event is the annual wife carrying competition, that's been a finnish competition since 1972. there's a division for senior are citizens. wales holds the bog contest everyyear. isn't the point of snorkeling being aible to see underwater? sky diving ironing contest. you heard me: you skydive and you iron. there are

earlier i had a chance to speak with eric brynjoffsson, director of the mit school of business, co-author of the second machine age, work progress and prosperity in a time of brilliant technologies. you write that historically, advances in technology and automation have destroyed many jobs but at the same time created many more. the 1990s in what you called the great decoupling. >> that's right. important to remember that: all throughout history technology has been changing the nature of jobs. the first machine age, the industrial revolution when agriculture became mechanized. now by and large people learn new skills, they participate in new industries. henry ford helped create new industries as did many others. but recently those trends have decoupled a bit. andrew mcafee and i call it the great decoupling. gdp growth, we're at record levels of all those numbers however employment has stagnated as have median wages. that's not something we have seen in the earlier eras. >> the recent automation of the past couple of decades have really played a big role in these job losses that we've see