Andersen reposted this
The Andersen Institute for Finance & Economics recently hosted in Silicon Valley a panel on #AI and the economy with former US Treasury Secretary Lawrence H. Summers, Nobel Laureate in Economic Sciences Myron Scholes, and Stanford Graduate School of Business Economics Professor Rebecca Diamond. One framing comment from the discussion: There is a high likelihood that widespread use of #AI and what these technologies mean for our society will be the defining story of our time. Other insights from the panelists below. There is huge uncertainty about the societal impacts of #AI technologies, in part because #AI is different from other historically significant technological innovations. Advances in #AI enable better #AI research: In a few years, a large share of research now done by humans using #AI will be done by #AI itself, as it gets smarter and better. #AI has the unique property of enabling a “hive mind"--if you can create one smarter #AI, you can have scale with thousands of specialized AIs collaborating. And there is potential beyond the knowledge sector. #AI can be a powerful tool for dealing with #uncertainty and for reducing noise in processes. For example, thanks to #AI advances, #robots will be able to learn on the fly, and we may soon see significantly smarter, more flexible, and more collaborative #robots and manufacturing processes. Thus, #AI innovations may well have a more profound impact on society than the steam engine or electricity. There is still a lot we can learn about the #AI impact from studying #history and how these technologies have played out so far. Most occupations today did not exist in the 1940s: History tells us #technology change doesn’t just eliminate #jobs but can also create new types of work. And research shows that while some sectors will likely experience big disruptions, there will also be tasks that #AI can’t do, that are likely to be in high demand and short supply. We know from #AI #patent studies that the professions where the most tasks can be automated are the same ones where #AI can also be combined with humans (“augmentation”) with greatest productivity gains. There are reasons for both caution and excitement. It likely not a coincidence that previous technology-driven accelerations in #economicgrowth were followed by great upheaval (e.g., world wars, the #greatdepression). We will need creative solutions to deal with the convulsions that comes with fast societal change. But there are lots of reasons to be excited. To give just one example, research shows that #AI may lead to a resurgence in the #middleclass and decrease #wageinequality, as #AI tools can narrow the #productivitygap between high- and low-skilled workers. Larry, Myron, and Rebecca shared far more insights with our guests. I’m proud the Andersen Institute is facilitating a connection between business leaders and great thinkers to help understand how technological innovations will reshape #society and the business world.