The impact of generative AI as a general-purpose technology
Artificial Intelligence
Generative artificial intelligence will affect economic growth more quickly than other general-purpose technologies, according to a new report.
The steam engine, the internal combustion engine, electrification, and computers are all considered “general-purpose technologies” — new tools that are powerful enough to accelerate overall economic growth and transform economies and societies. According to many experts, generative artificial intelligence will be the next invention to join that category.
In a recent report about the economic impact of generative AI, Google visiting fellow and MIT Sloan principal research scientist Andrew McAfee makes the case that generative AI is not only a game-changing general-purpose technology but could also spur change far more quickly than preceding innovations due to its accessibility and ease of diffusion.
General-purpose technologies possess three key characteristics that ensure that they will have a large and positive economy-wide impact on productivity and growth. Though generative AI is still relatively new, McAfee writes that generative AI has these characteristics:
