We use a controlled experiment to show that ability and belief calibration jointly determine the benefits of working with Artificial Intelligence (AI

The ABC’s of Who Benefits from Working with AI: Ability, Beliefs, and Calibration

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2024-10-08 20:00:07

We use a controlled experiment to show that ability and belief calibration jointly determine the benefits of working with Artificial Intelligence (AI). AI improves performance more for people with low baseline ability. However, holding ability constant, AI assistance is more valuable for people who are calibrated, meaning they have accurate beliefs about their own ability. People who know they have low ability gain the most from working with AI. In a counterfactual analysis, we show that eliminating miscalibration would cause AI to reduce performance inequality nearly twice as much as it already does.

We thank the Sloan Foundation for supporting this research under the “Cognitive Economics at Work” grant. IRB approval from the University of California, Santa Barbara. Preregistration: https://aspredicted.org/pm63-gvdv.pdf. The views expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Bureau of Economic Research.

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