Navigating Economic Research in a Rapidly Changing Technological Landscape

AI’s boosters claim that it is going to revolutionize growth in the developing world. The
sceptics, many of whom are economists, point to a thin evidence base and the risk of
unintended consequences. This is not an easy question to research, not least because the underlying technologies are literally changing by the day, while the pace of academic research is often measured in years. One of those researchers is David Yanagizawa-Drott of the University of Zurich. We spoke to him about his hopes and fears for AI, how he keeps his research relevant, and how economists can influence the future applications of AI.

The Social Catalyst Lab: https://socialcatalystlab.org/