Edward Conard

Top Ten New York Times Bestselling Author

  • “A full-throated defense of economic dynamism.” - The Wall Street Journal
  • “…challenges misconceptions that distort our economic debates.” - Arthur Brooks, President of the American Enterprise Institute
  • “…a comprehensive explanation of the modern economy.” - Julian Robertson, Founder, Tiger Management
  • “…a must-read for serious students of economic policy.” - Glenn Hubbard, Dean, Columbia Business School, and former Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers
  • “…a must-read for serious students of economic policy.” - Glenn Hubbard, Dean, Columbia Business School, and former Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers
  • “There are an amazing number of good ideas and interesting points made in Unintended Consequences. The thinking underlying it, and the obvious depth of understanding of the author, are very impressive.” - Steven Levitt, coauthor of Freakonomics; 2004 John Bates Clark Medal
  • “…a comprehensive explanation of the modern economy.” - Julian Robertson, Founder, Tiger Management
  • “Unintended Consequences provides a provocative interpretation of the causes of the global financial crisis and the policies needed to return to rapid growth. Whether you agree or not, this analysis is well worth reading.” - Nouriel Roubini, New York University; Chairman, Roubini Global Economics
  • “…serious thinking for serious thinkers. …a thought-provoking blueprint for growing middle- and working-class incomes.” - Mitt Romney, former Governor of Massachusetts
  • “Unintended Consequences is full of substance, it is one of the must-read books of the year, and once I finish it I will be giving it a second read through right away.” - Tyler Cowen, Professor, George Mason University
  • “…a fresh argument for the productive value of inequality.” - David Autor, Professor of Economics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  • “…reminds us that inequality sends a signal of what society lacks most, in America’s case, entrepreneurship and risk taking.” - Lawrence Lindsey, CEO, The Lindsey Group, former Director of the National Economic Council
Upside of Inequality Oxford Unintended Consequences

AI Summary. Google's ATLAS data show workplace AI use spans over 68% of occupations representing above 88% of US employment, but depth is shallow: AI is used for only 21% of tasks in the median occupation with any use, mostly collaborative rather than automating. Over 86% of conversational AI interactions occur outside work.

Fabien Curto Millet, Zanna Iscenko, Scott Strand, et al. Google
Date Posted:

Google’s new AI & Economy ATLAS maps 15M AI interactions to occupations, tasks, and activities, showing AI use is pervasive but not intensive, collaborative more than autonomous, and used mostly at home, suggesting GDP accounting understates its value.

How broad and deep is workplace AI adoption across occupations?

Core argument: Google's ATLAS v1.0 finds AI adoption in the workplace spans over 68% of all occupations, representing just above 88% of total US employment, including software developers and market researchers as well as farmers, industrial engineers, and foresters.

AI has diffused very broadly in both work and life. Adoption in the workplace spans over 68% of all occupations that collectively represent just above 88% of total US employment, including both much-discussed occupations such as software developers and market researchers, and those less-discussed such as farmers, industrial engineers, and foresters. Though broadly used at work, the overall depth of AI’s use is shallow. ATLAS data shows that AI is used for only 21% of total tasks in the median occupation with any AI use. Only 3% of occupations showed AI usage for over 75% of their tasks. While there is some task automation, the vast majority of use so far is collaborative and assistive to tasks and work. ATLAS points to a complex relationship between AI usage and expertise. When classified according to expertise levels, tasks requiring lower-to-middle levels of expertise tend to see relatively higher AI usage than the highest expertise level tasks, despite ATLAS data also suggesting high-earning workers—and therefore those with more scarce skills and expertise—adopt AI at the highest rates. AI is delivering real utility at home that standard economic metrics may miss. Over 86% of interactions with conversational AI happen outside of work, and humans’ daily time allocation strongly and positively predicts where people direct their AI questions.

Takeaways by Macro Roundup® AI

  1. Google's ATLAS v1.0 finds AI adoption in the workplace spans over 68% of all occupations, representing just above 88% of total US employment, including software developers and market researchers as well as farmers, industrial engineers, and foresters.
  2. AI's use is shallow, covering only 21% of total tasks in the median occupation with any AI use, with just 3% of occupations showing AI usage for over 75% of their tasks and the vast majority of use collaborative and assistive.
  3. Over 86% of interactions with conversational AI happen outside of work, and humans' daily time allocation strongly and positively predicts where people direct their AI questions, utility that standard economic metrics may miss.

Related Articles:

  • Expertise — The authors' model of automation predicts that occupations with rising expertise requirements see higher wages but falling employment, while those with declining requirements see lower wages alongside rising employment. Analyzing employment and earnings data by occupation across four decades, they find changes in occupational expertise strongly predict changes in occupational wages.
  • Generative AI and Entrepreneurship — The authors find that startups with a larger share of tasks doable by generative AI cut employment beginning immediately after ChatGPT's release, with technically proficient founders restructuring teams toward higher-skill roles. Venture investors made smaller but more numerous deals, and new firm entry offset the decline in total startup employment.
  • America Is Experiencing A Productivity Miracle — America's post-2019 productivity acceleration came largely from professional services and management—about 10% of output and heavy users rather than producers of new technology—and from oil and gas. The information industry grew productivity around 6% annually, no faster than its 2000-19 average, with its output share steady at 5.3–5.5%.