The Economics Show The Wolf-Krugman Exchange: AI hype vs reality
Jun 24, 2025
In this engaging conversation, Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman shares insights on the transformative potential of artificial intelligence. He and Martin Wolf delve into whether AI will reshape the job market or merely echo past technological revolutions. They discuss alarming trends in unemployment among recent graduates, the complexity of AI's integration into society, and the contrasting views on its economic impact. With philosophical reflections on intelligence and labor, they offer a thought-provoking take on the future of work.
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AI Passes Turing Test Not Intelligence
- AI programs pass the Turing test but are not considered human or truly intelligent yet.
- AI excels in tasks like language translation much better than before but lacks human-level intelligence.
History Shows Jobs Will Transform
- Past technological revolutions caused disruptions but ultimately created new jobs no one predicted.
- AI might displace many jobs, but history suggests new, different jobs will emerge over time.
AI May Follow Electricity's Slow Path
- The electrification productivity boost took decades due to needed reorganization of factories.
- AI might follow a similar pattern with large eventual impact but slow and gradual change.
