Product details
- ISBN 9780226854083
- Weight: 454g
- Dimensions: 152 x 229mm
- Publication Date: 21 Sep 2026
- Publisher: The University of Chicago Press
- Publication City/Country: US
- Product Form: Hardback
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A thought-provoking examination of how AI might either spur or harm human economic progress.
What happens to an economy when machines can think as well as, or even better than, humans? The Economics of Transformative AI tackles this issue, which is one of the most consequential economic questions of our time. This book brings together sixteen research studies from top economists that look closely at how transformative AI reshapes everything from innovation and market structure to employment, inequality, and human purpose. They explore both opportunities, such as personalized algorithmic assistance, accelerated scientific discovery, and new forms of organization, and profound challenges, including potential labor displacement, rising concentration of power, changes in the information ecosystem, and even possible existential risks to humanity.
The studies in this volume develop economic frameworks for understanding the conditions under which AI might enhance or undermine human flourishing. They offer policymakers, researchers, and business leaders the analytical tools needed to prepare for the potential economic transformations ahead.
Ajay Agrawal is professor of strategic management and the Geoffrey Taber Chair in Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the University of Toronto as well as a research associate of the NBER. Erik Brynjolfsson is the Jerry Yang and Akiko Yamazaki Professor and Senior Fellow at the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered AI, director of the Stanford Digital Economy Lab, and a research associate of the NBER. Anton Korinek is a professor at the University of Virginia, Department of Economics and the Darden School of Business, as well as the faculty director of the Economics of Transformative AI Initiative. He is a research associate of the NBER and was named to the 2025 TIME100 AI list of the most influential people in artificial intelligence.
