EXCITEMENT ABOUT ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI) is on the rise among business leaders and investors, and for good reason: AI has the potential to transform business and the economy. But are businesses embracing it yet? If so, to what extent?
Very little evidence exists about which technologies have actually been adopted thus far, who the adopters are or where they are located — which has made it difficult to understand AI’s true economic and managerial implications. In a recent paper, I and my colleagues Erik Brynjolfsson (Stanford University), J. Frank Li (UBC) and Zachary Kroff, Emin Dinlersoz, Lucia Foster and Nikolas Zolas of the U.S. Census Bureau set out to fill in some of the blanks.
Our study sheds light on the rate and direction of AI diffusion and the influences that will shape its ultimate impact on workers, firms and society. In this article I will summarize our key findings.
Why Study AI Adoption?
Throughout the history of big technological shifts, firms have required time to adjust and achieve new productivity gains. Changing processes, restructuring the organization, hiring the right talent and learning how to integrate new technology into products and services is difficult. So difficult, in fact, that adjustment often unfolds unevenly across firms.
AI represents an important new input into the production of novel ideas. If AI provides an antidote to purported declines in innovation or a pathway to new or better jobs, this could be cause for optimism. Understanding the firm context shaping this innovative activity is essential. At the same time, however, concern is growing that many industries are becoming more concentrated — and changing technology is increasingly taking the blame. In recent years we have and that may benefit even more from technologies like AI.
