Showing 1 - 10 of 30
Two models for future autonomous agentic AIs
News, Daron Acemoglu, Published on 10/04/2025
» AI "agents" are coming, whether we are ready or not. While there is much uncertainty about when AI models will be able to interact autonomously with digital platforms, other AI tools, and even humans, there can be little doubt that this development will be transformative -- for better or worse. Yet, despite all the commentary (and hype) around agentic AI, many big questions remain unaddressed, the biggest being which type of AI agent the tech industry is seeking to develop.
Will we waste the AI opportunity?
Oped, Daron Acemoglu, Published on 25/02/2025
» I was fortunate to participate in the recent AI Action Summit in Paris, where many discussions emphasised the need to steer AI in a more socially beneficial direction.
Was DeepSeek-R1 release a Sputnik moment for AI?
News, Daron Acemoglu, Published on 07/02/2025
» After the release of DeepSeek-R1 on Jan 20 triggered a massive drop in chipmaker Nvidia's share price and sharp declines in various other tech companies' valuations, some declared this a "Sputnik moment" in the Sino-American race for supremacy in artificial intelligence. While America's AI industry arguably needed shaking up, the episode raises some difficult questions.
Are high-skill immigrants a problem?
News, Daron Acemoglu, Published on 13/01/2025
» Fissures within US president-elect Donald Trump's "Make America Great Again" (Maga) coalition have appeared sooner than expected. By the end of December, the tech-billionaire wing was in open warfare with Maga's nativist wing over America's H-1B visa programme, which enables US businesses to employ some 600,000 skilled foreigners per year on a temporary basis.
The Trump shock is the Democrat Party's fault
Oped, Daron Acemoglu, Published on 19/11/2024
» The outcome of the US presidential election was more of a Democratic loss than a triumph for Donald Trump. The Democrats lost not because US President Joe Biden stayed in the race too long and not because Kamala Harris is unqualified but because they have been losing workers and failed to win them back.
How the world can escape the new Gilded Age
News, Daron Acemoglu, Published on 25/10/2024
» Tech billionaires such as Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk are not just among the richest people in human history. They also are exceptionally powerful -- socially, culturally and politically. While this is partly a reflection of the social status that our society attaches to wealth in general, that is not the whole story.
The debate about AI safety gets everything wrong
News, Daron Acemoglu, Published on 07/08/2024
» A huge industry has emerged in recent years as China, the United States, the United Kingdom, and the European Union have made the safety of artificial intelligence a top priority. Obviously, any technology -- from cars and pharmaceuticals to machine tools and lawnmowers -- should be designed as safely as possible (one wishes that more scrutiny had been brought to bear on social media during its early days).
Starmer's Labour victory in UK: some lessons for all
News, Daron Acemoglu, Published on 11/07/2024
» The Labour Party's sweeping victory in the United Kingdom's general election already holds lessons for centre and centre-left parties elsewhere. But whether it will matter in the long run depends on Prime Minister Keir Starmer's ability to address his country's economic woes -- a very tall order.
Democracy really needs to be more pro-worker
Oped, Daron Acemoglu, Published on 25/06/2024
» Even if the feared extremist wave did not quite materialise in the European Parliament election this month, the far right performed well in Italy, Austria, Germany, and especially France. Moreover, its latest gains have come on the heels of major shifts toward far-right parties in Hungary, Italy, Austria, the Netherlands, and Sweden, among others.
Beyond the hype: Gauging AI's true economic impact
Oped, Daron Acemoglu, Published on 30/05/2024
» According to tech leaders and many pundits and academics, artificial intelligence (AI) is poised to transform the world as we know it through unprecedented productivity gains. While some believe that machines soon will do everything humans can do, ushering in a new age of boundless prosperity, other predictions are at least more grounded. For example, Goldman Sachs predicts that generative AI will boost global GDP by 7% over the next decade, and the McKinsey Global Institute anticipates that the annual GDP growth rate could increase by 3-4 percentage points between now and 2040. For its part, The Economist expects that AI will create a blue-collar bonanza.