La Ciudad de las Ideas debate on Artificial Intelligence
James Bessen debates on AI. Read more ->
Tag: Artificial Intelligence
Artificial Intelligence Is On The March. But Is Government Ready?
Robert Seamans in Forbes
The Policy Challenge of Artificial Intelligence
James Bessen
Across all major sectors of the economy, proprietary information technology is increasing the market dominance of large firms, which is evidence of a slowdown in the spread of technical knowledge throughout the economy. The result is rising industry concentration, slower productivity growth and growing wage inequality. The key challenge to IP and antitrust policy will be counter this trend yet maintain innovation incentives.
AI and the Economy
Robert Seamans and Jason Furman
Is artificial intelligence (AI) having a large effect on the economy? A variety of statistics—including robotics shipments, AI startups, and patent counts—show a large increase in AI-related activity. AI and robotics also have the potential to increase productivity growth but may cause labor market upheaval. This paper explores some strategies and policies for dealing with this upheaval.
The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Innovation
Iain Cockburn, Rebecca Henderson, and Scott Stern.
Can artificial intelligence serve as a new general-purpose “method of invention” that can reshape the nature of the innovation process and the organization of R&D? Research suggests that this may lead to a significant substitution away from more routinized labor-intensive research towards research that takes advantage of the interplay between passively generated large datasets and enhanced prediction algorithms. The authors suggest that policies which encourage transparency and sharing of core datasets across both public and private actors may be critical tools for stimulating research productivity and innovation-oriented competition.
AI and Jobs: The Role of Demand
James Bessen
Artificial intelligence (AI) technologies will automate many jobs, but the effect on employment is not obvious. Although technology has sharply reduced jobs in manufacturing in recent decades, for over a century before that, employment grew, even in industries experiencing rapid technological change. This paper presents a simple model of the change in demand that accurately predicts the rise and fall of employment in the textile, steel and automotive industries, and will be useful for exploring how AI is likely to affect jobs over the next 10 or 20 years.
Value Migration and Industry 4.0: Theory, Field Evidence, and Propositions
Susan Helper, Raphael Martins, Robert Seamans
This paper offers several predictions about how Industry 4.0 – the coordinated use of robots, sensors, AI, and other digitally-enabled technologies in manufacturing – will affect which firms and occupations capture value in manufacturing. Using in-depth interviews with manufacturers that are part of the automotive value chain, the authors find that value migration within firms likely affects whether and how value migration occurs across firms.
Algorithmic Bias? An Empirical Study into Apparent Gender-Based Discrimination in the Display of STEM Career Ads
Catherine Tucker