As we navigate the rapid evolution of artificial intelligence (AI) technology and its integration into our work and life, we’re seeking insights from the experts. In a new blog series, Navigating the Future: Author Insights on AI in the Workforce, Society, and Education, Pearson’s authors share their thoughts on the impacts of AI on their fields of study, society, education, and the workforce more broadly.
Today we sit down with Dr. Roger LeRoy Miller, author of the Economics Today franchise, who shares his thoughts on the economic impacts of AI.
- What is a key impact of AI in your field today? How do you see this impact affecting society more broadly?
At a microeconomic level, the most important effects of AI applications for today’s students relate to firms’ labor choices. Greater use of AI induces firms to hire more people who regularly use AI in their work, such as those who use it to manage datasets, design and manage apps, or perform legal analysis. At the same time, increased use of AI leads firms to reduce employment of people who perform tasks AI can perform instead, like repetitive data-entry tasks, basic modifications of lines of code for apps, or simple document searches.
At a macroeconomic level, the key impact of firms’ utilization of AI is likely to be an increase in overall labor productivity as more workers develop skills in this area. However, there is uncertainty about the speed of this transition and the size of the resulting increase in labor productivity. This latter element is the crucial determinant of the ultimate effect the use of AI will have on global rates of economic growth. - How are you educating students on these impacts? What are the concepts or skills you’re focusing on in your teaching to bring AI’s impact to life in context?
I’ve been working to make students aware of the emerging impacts for the last several years. I’ve written previously about how early forays into the utilization of AI-based technologies relating to machine learning and big data application had already begun to influence economic choices of individuals and businesses.
Students should understand the range of economic impacts of the modern implementation of AI, including the contribution of AI to US gross private domestic investment, the implementation of foreign exchange hedging strategies with the assistance of AI, and how people’s claims and actions differ regarding allowing AI to manage their finances. I’ve been including these as features in the upcoming 21st edition of my title, Economics Today. - As business and economics students graduate and enter the workforce, what are the three most important things they should take away from the rapid evolution of AI?
A key takeaway is students should be leery of developing skills only in performing tasks that AI applications can accomplish or appear likely to be able to accomplish in the future. Instead, students should seek out coursework, such as within the field of economics, that prepares them for how and why AI applications are being used in the workplace. It is unlikely that many jobs available at future US employers will not directly utilize or be affected by the use of such applications, and many workers are already feeling the effects.
In addition, students must recognize that even outside the workplace, their market interactions with businesses as consumers increasingly will be affected by the use of AI. Companies are already employing AI-based technologies intended to influence consumers’ choices.
Furthermore, students’ interactions with other individuals within social networks and two-sided markets such as matchmaking and online auction sites likely will be influenced by more widespread use of AI, though to what extent remains uncertain. Regardless, students should be aware of the economics of social networks and two-sided markets. - How is AI technology changing how students engage in learning? What changes have you already observed in your students?
Today’s students are aware of the ongoing development and implementation of AI. A number already are seeking education about the subject, and some even are actively seeking training within fields such as computer science and management information systems. Certainly, more students are entering universities with the anticipation that their coursework and the supporting learning materials and platforms made available to them will provide them with a minimal background on the subject. Undoubtedly, within the next few years, most entering students will expect coverage of the impact of artificial intelligence on fields of study relevant to their interests.
Given the pace at which AI technologies are being incorporated into the activities of businesses and numerous market environments, learning material for economics must be at the forefront of these efforts. I recognized this need several years ago and I continue to keep students as up to date as possible about the economic implications of AI. The implications are both microeconomic and macroeconomic in nature and likely will influence students’ interactions with other individuals, businesses, and government entities over the course of their lifetimes.
About the author
Dr. Roger LeRoy Miller has published in numerous academic journals and has enjoyed a productive textbook writing career. His textbooks have focused on intermediate macroeconomics, money and banking, industrial organization, intermediate microeconomics, applied econometrics, American economic history, and the principles of economics. His title, Economics Today, is going into its 21st edition.