Edward Conard

Top Ten New York Times Bestselling Author

  • “…a very valuable contribution.” - Larry Summers, former Secretary of the Treasury and director of the National Economic Council, president emeritus, Harvard University
  • “…challenges misconceptions that distort our economic debates.” - Arthur Brooks, President of the American Enterprise Institute
  • “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
  • “…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 very valuable contribution.” - Larry Summers, former Secretary of the Treasury and director of the National Economic Council, president emeritus, Harvard University
  • “…a fresh argument for the productive value of inequality.” - David Autor, Professor of Economics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  • “A full-throated defense of economic dynamism.” - The Wall Street Journal
  • “…serious thinking for serious thinkers. …a thought-provoking blueprint for growing middle- and working-class incomes.” - Mitt Romney, former Governor of Massachusetts
  • “Unintended Consequences represents the most cogent and persuasive analysis of the Financial Crisis to date.” - Andrei Shleifer, 1999 John Bates Clark Medal Winner
  • “Unintended Consequences offers deep and well-argued analyses on almost every issue.” - The New York Times
  • “…a comprehensive explanation of the modern economy.” - Julian Robertson, Founder, Tiger Management
  • “…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

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.

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.

Related Articles:

  • Expertise — Autor finds automation of a given routine task can “replace experts in some occupations and augment expertise in others.” Data from 1980–2014 show that…
  • Generative AI and Entrepreneurship — Startups with greater exposure to generative AI tools show immediate and sustained employment declines following the technology's release, with no evidence the trend existed beforehand.
  • America Is Experiencing A Productivity Miracle — Productivity gains in America are concentrated in professional services and management—sectors that use technology intensively rather than produce it—with additional momentum from energy, where shale extraction and liquefied natural gas exports have expanded output and revenue.