The Political Economy of Artificial Intelligence
The Political Economy of Artificial Intelligence
An authoritative look at how artificial intelligence both shapes and is shaped by the political and economic forces of the modern world.
As the effects of artificial intelligence are felt across economies and societies, many of its ramifications are still emerging. This volume brings together economists and political scientists to examine how AI intersects with regulation, military power, and political identity—offering analytical frameworks and identifying key open questions for future research.
The contributions address topics such as the allocation of property rights for AI inputs, trade-offs among alternative regulatory regimes, and the role of interest groups in shaping the technology’s trajectory. They explore how AI-related capabilities influence military effectiveness, resource allocation, and bargaining power among nations, and consider AI’s effects on political preferences, from the influence of AI-curated information on polarization to the implications of targeted political advertising and personalized education for national identity formation. The volume highlights key trade-offs that arise in AI’s political economy, and points toward empirical strategies and theoretical models that can advance understanding in this emerging field.
Drawing on diverse disciplinary perspectives, the collection provides a foundation for rigorous inquiry into how AI both shapes and is shaped by political and economic forces.
240 pages | 3 halftones, 8 line drawings, 8 tables | 6 x 9
National Bureau of Economic Research Conference Report
Economics and Business: Business--Industry and Labor
Table of Contents
Introduction
Ajay Agrawal, Joshua Gans, Avi Goldfarb, and Catherine E. Tucker
I. The Political Economy of AI Regulation
1. Generalized Disruption: Society, Work, and Property Rights in the Age of AI
Martin Beraja and Noam Yuchtman
2. Data as the New Oil: Parallels, Challenges, and Regulatory Implications
Chiara Farronato
3. Regulating AI: The Race Between Policymakers and the Rise of a New Interest Group
Steven Callander
4. Regulating Algorithms: What and When
Talia Gillis, Scott Nelson, and Jann Spiess
5. Algorithmic Fairness: A Tale of Two Approaches
Joshua Gans
6. Regulating AI: Six Principles and Their Consequences
Jason Furman
II. AI and Military Power
7. Four Battlegrounds for Artificial Intelligence
Paul Scharre
Comment: Daniel P. Gross
8. The More Dismal Science: Perspectives from International Relations on Military Automation
Jon R. Lindsay
III. AI and Political Identity
9. Nation Building and AI
Vasiliki Fouka and Bryony Reich
10. Robotization and the Political Response of Politicians
Maria Petrova, Gregor Schubert, Bledi Taska, and Pinar Yildirim
Comment: Italo Colantone
11. Political Preferences and Support for Artificial Intelligence
Jordan Mansell, Alexander Beyer, Ori Freiman, John McAndrews, and Clifton van der Linden
12. AI and Social Media: A Political Economy Perspective
Daron Acemoglu, Asuman Ozdaglar, and James Siderius
Comment: Joshua Tucker
Author Index
Subject Index