Artificial Intelligence: Don’t Believe the Hype About AI’s Impact on Productivity
Australian Financial Review
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Details
- Date Published
- 26 May 2024
- Priority Score
- 2
- Australian
- No
- Created
- 8 Mar 2025, 02:41 pm
Description
Economic theory and the available data justify a more modest, realistic outlook for productivity gains from AI.
Summary
Economist Daron Acemoglu critiques the prevalent optimism regarding AI's impact on productivity. He argues that while AI has potential, predictions of its transformative effects may be overstated, suggesting a more measured expectation is warranted. Acemoglu highlights differing views, such as Goldman Sachs’ and McKinsey’s forecasts of economic growth due to AI, but tempers these by pointing to historical examples where technological advancements did not always equate to massive productivity gains. This perspective contributes to the ongoing discourse on AI's socioeconomic impacts, albeit with minimal focus on existential or catastrophic risks. It is relevant for understanding global AI policy and economic planning.
Body
TechnologyAIPrint articleMay 26, 2024 – 12.11pmSaveLog inorSubscribeto save articleShareCopy linkCopiedEmailLinkedInTwitterFacebookCopy linkCopiedShare via...Gift this articleSubscribe to gift this articleGift 5 articles to anyone you choose each month when you subscribe.Subscribe nowAlready a subscriber?LoginAccording to tech leaders and many pundits and academics,artificial intelligenceis poised to transform the world as we know it through unprecedented productivity gains.While some believe that machines soon will do everything humans can do, ushering in a new age of boundless prosperity, other predictions are at least more grounded. For example, Goldman Sachs predicts that generative AI will boost global GDP by 7 per cent over the next decade, and the McKinsey Global Institute anticipates that the annual GDP growth rate could increase by 3-4 percentage points between now and 2040. For its part,The Economistexpects that AI will create a blue-collar bonanza.Loading...Daron Acemogluis Institute Professor of Economics at MIT.SaveLog inorSubscribeto save articleShareCopy linkCopiedEmailLinkedInTwitterFacebookCopy linkCopiedShare via...Gift this articleSubscribe to gift this articleGift 5 articles to anyone you choose each month when you subscribe.Subscribe nowAlready a subscriber?LoginLicense articleFollow the topics, people and companies that matter to you.Find out moreRead MoreAIOpinionProductivityDigital transformationAI SummitAFR LiveFetching latest articlesOlympic weightlifting is hard. This boss uses the 1pc rule to get it doneLucy DeanOut-of-control watch price rises give housing a run for its moneyKnow your craft: How the biggest airlines rate at the pointy end‘We’ll fight’: Alex Waislitz on family battles and bad betsPatrick DurkinJob appointments have never been purely merit-based: CEW chiefWhy this CEO saves creative work for after her periodNew Zealand pops its cork for one of the world’s great wine festivalsMax AllenWhy Hawaii’s data-driven wellness retreat is a haven for high-flyersA last-chance tote bag and a groovy case for trumpetersVictor Smorgon’s star fundie eyes 50pc returns for new fundAlex GluyasForrest family powerbroker had alleged role in big Fortescue decisionsEllison-run garnet mine faces punishment over unsanctioned development