Are we building an economy for robots or for people?
Last week, a symposium on the future of artificial intelligence was hosted by Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy and Beeck Center with Anthropic. The event brought together policymakers, technologists, and academics to grapple with the big questions around AI’s trajectory and governance. Mercatus wasn’t going to miss that. Tyler Cowen was a featured voice, offering his perspective on how AI will reshape innovation, growth, and society at large.
“AI is exciting and maybe a bit scary. So Anthropic called on economists, social scientists, [and] legal theorists to put our heads together to deal with the scary part. And we showed up.”
She emphasized one area ripe for reform: fixing distortions in the tax code that make it easier for businesses to expense machines than to invest in their workers. Companies can immediately deduct the full cost of robots through bonus depreciation but cannot deduct worker training without navigating a maze of restrictions. As Revana pointed out, that
imbalance discourages investment in human capital just when AI makes it more important.
For more of her reflections on how AI is reshaping work and society, follow Revana on Instagram and Substack.
AI is incredibly exciting, and its potential for growing our capacities is immense. Mercatus will be on the front lines of those developments.
Ben Brophy Vice President, Strategic Engagement
Mercatus Center at George Mason University
Henry Oliver, one of our Emerging Scholars, did an interview with The Republic of Letters about his passion for reading, career development, and everything from Jane Austen to artificial intelligence.
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