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The Mixtape with Scott

S2E40: Avi Goldfarb, Economist, University of Toronto

Nov 21, 2023
Avi Goldfarb, an economist specializing in the economics of the internet, discusses topics such as the history of AI in Toronto, creating lasting memories through vacations, the influence of family on interest in social science, challenges of obtaining data, luck and collaboration in research, methods in econometrics, analyzing the impact of ambulance chaser laws on online advertising, interdisciplinary research, the commercial potential of AI, and the downward sloping demand curve.
01:26:27

Episode guests

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

  • AI's value lies in making accurate predictions and can reshape industries and decision-making processes.
  • AI as prediction technology complements human judgment and does not replace it.

Deep dives

The origins of the book

The book 'Prediction Machines' was written by Ajay Agrawal, Joshua Gans, and Avi Goldfarb. Its origins trace back to a paper they co-authored in 2008, which was instrumental in getting them tenure. In 2012, Goldfarb and Gans became exposed to the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) through a company that emerged from the computer science department at the University of Toronto. This led to their deeper interest in AI and its commercial applications.

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