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This essay reviews seven books from the past dozen years by social scientists examining AI’s economic impact. These works offer valuable insights—AI as cheap prediction, architectural barriers to adoption, data as an economic asset, implementation challenges. However, they offer little guidance when it comes to the transformative scenarios considered plausible by many AI researchers. Economists have made great progress in explaining how to use AI within existing production functions, who benefits, and why; what remains needed is rigorous advice to policymakers concerned about rapid increases in labor churn, scientific development, labor-capital shifts, or existential risk.
