What power with AI
A book recently published in Italy explores the relationships between the capabilities of Artificial Intelligence and its effects in the economy and society
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has established itself as the new boundary for the economy and business, as well as society – or so it would seem. However, the actual mechanisms for using AI and safeguarding ourselves from it and, above all, the extent of its effects, remain unclear. In attempting to answer these questions, it may be useful to read Power and Prediction. The Disruptive Economics of Artificial Intelligence, written by the trio of Ajay Agrawal, Joshua Gans and Avi Goldfarb and recently published in Italy.
The book takes its cue from an observation: AI has already had a significant impact on much of the economy – from finance and pharmaceuticals to the automotive, medical and manufacturing sectors, as well as world trade – but we are still only beginning to understand how to apply it effectively and appropriately. And, in the opinion of the three authors, this is especially true of economic forecasting, which AI should make more accurate, faster and better able to guide strategic decisions.
Our subject, then, is using AI to predict what will happen in the economy. The book explains how the two key ingredients in decision-making – prediction and judgment – are simultaneously processed by our minds, often without our realising it. The rise of AI is shifting the task of making predictions from humans to machines, relieving us of this cognitive load and increasing the speed and accuracy of decisions. Achieving such a leap forward, however, will involve redesigning a substantial set of systems and procedures. And this is the stage of the journey that provides the focal point for the book.
Agrawal, Gans and Goldfarb go on to take the reader through the rules and systems that need to be applied but, above all, they explore the topic of the power conferred on those able to use AI. Indeed, decision-making, as they note, confers power. And in the economy, power generates profits, while in society, power means control. All this will lead to a profound shake-up of economic and social structures. Companies will be able to exploit the opportunities that open up and will also have to protect their positions. Society will have to rethink how it is set up and people’s rights.
This book by Agrawal, Gans and Goldfarb – a useful and important volume – should be read carefully and critically by aware citizens and shrewd entrepreneurs alike.
Power and Prediction. The Disruptive Economics of Artificial Intelligence
Ajay Agrawal, Joshua Gans, Avi Goldfarb
Italian edition: Potere e previsione. L’economia dirompente dell’intelligenza artificiale, Franco Angeli, 2024
A book recently published in Italy explores the relationships between the capabilities of Artificial Intelligence and its effects in the economy and society
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has established itself as the new boundary for the economy and business, as well as society – or so it would seem. However, the actual mechanisms for using AI and safeguarding ourselves from it and, above all, the extent of its effects, remain unclear. In attempting to answer these questions, it may be useful to read Power and Prediction. The Disruptive Economics of Artificial Intelligence, written by the trio of Ajay Agrawal, Joshua Gans and Avi Goldfarb and recently published in Italy.
The book takes its cue from an observation: AI has already had a significant impact on much of the economy – from finance and pharmaceuticals to the automotive, medical and manufacturing sectors, as well as world trade – but we are still only beginning to understand how to apply it effectively and appropriately. And, in the opinion of the three authors, this is especially true of economic forecasting, which AI should make more accurate, faster and better able to guide strategic decisions.
Our subject, then, is using AI to predict what will happen in the economy. The book explains how the two key ingredients in decision-making – prediction and judgment – are simultaneously processed by our minds, often without our realising it. The rise of AI is shifting the task of making predictions from humans to machines, relieving us of this cognitive load and increasing the speed and accuracy of decisions. Achieving such a leap forward, however, will involve redesigning a substantial set of systems and procedures. And this is the stage of the journey that provides the focal point for the book.
Agrawal, Gans and Goldfarb go on to take the reader through the rules and systems that need to be applied but, above all, they explore the topic of the power conferred on those able to use AI. Indeed, decision-making, as they note, confers power. And in the economy, power generates profits, while in society, power means control. All this will lead to a profound shake-up of economic and social structures. Companies will be able to exploit the opportunities that open up and will also have to protect their positions. Society will have to rethink how it is set up and people’s rights.
This book by Agrawal, Gans and Goldfarb – a useful and important volume – should be read carefully and critically by aware citizens and shrewd entrepreneurs alike.
Power and Prediction. The Disruptive Economics of Artificial Intelligence
Ajay Agrawal, Joshua Gans, Avi Goldfarb
Italian edition: Potere e previsione. L’economia dirompente dell’intelligenza artificiale, Franco Angeli, 2024