TY  - JOUR
AU  - Furman, Jason
AU  - Seamans, Robert
TI  - AI and the Economy
JF  - National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series
VL  - No. 24689
PY  - 2018
Y2  - June 2018
DO  - 10.3386/w24689
UR  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w24689
L1  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w24689.pdf
N1  - Author contact info:
Jason Furman
Harvard Kennedy School
79 John F. Kennedy St. Box 82
Cambridge, MA 02138
Tel: (617) 495-8331
E-Mail: jason_furman@harvard.edu

Robert Seamans
NYU Stern School of Business
44 West 4th Street, KMC 7-58
New York, NY 10012
E-Mail: rseamans@stern.nyu.edu
M1  - published as Jason Furman, Robert Seamans. "AI and the Economy," in Josh Lerner and Scott Stern, editors, "Innovation Policy and the Economy, Volume 19" University of Chicago Press (2019)

M3  - presented at "Innovation Policy and the Economy 2018", April 17, 2018
AB  - We review the evidence that artificial intelligence (AI) is having a large effect on the economy. Across a variety of statistics—including robotics shipments, AI startups, and patent counts—there is evidence of a large increase in AI-related activity. We also review recent research in this area which suggests that AI and robotics have the potential to increase productivity growth but may have mixed effects on labor, particularly in the short run. In particular, some occupations and industries may do well while others experience labor market upheaval. We then consider current and potential policies around AI that may help to boost productivity growth while also mitigating any labor market downsides including evaluating the pros and cons of an AI specific regulator, expanded antitrust enforcement, and alternative strategies for dealing with the labor-market impacts of AI, including universal basic income and guaranteed employment.
ER  -