MIT economist Daron Acemoglu blames this on what he calls “so-so” automation and technologies (pdf). Advances like automation should be a boom to productivity, but productivity growth has been sluggish for more than a decade. That, says Acemoglu, is because too often companies are automating jobs even when the machines are not more productive, because of the aforementioned tax distortions and a general enthusiasm for robots. So, you have a double whammy; not only are robots replacing workers, they’re not particularly adept at growing the economy.
The way out is to create new, productive tasks for the workers replaced by the automation. (That’s what has happened in the past). And that’s where AI could be useful. Examples are not that hard to imagine. For instance, if you free up healthcare workers, such as radiologists and nurses, from routine tasks, they could use AI systems to collect and analyze far more patient data, expanding their capabilities and giving them new ways to advise and treat patients. Acemoglu cites similar examples existing in education and manufacturing.
But, and this is key, Acemoglu warns that this won’t necessarily happen on its own (pdf). You can’t leave this up to the markets or the technologists. We need to deliberately pursue this goal.
Aucun commentaire:
Enregistrer un commentaire