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Artificial Intelligence as a general-purpose technology: an historical perspective
journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-09, 23:57 authored by Nicholas CraftsThis paper looks at the impact on productivity of general-purpose technologies such as steam, electricity, and ICT. It finds they had big effects but only with a lag which was substantial in the first two cases. The experience of the First Industrial Revolution is explored and it is found that this is not a template for a general-purpose technology having a major adverse effect on workers’ living standards. The essence of that industrial revolution was not rapid productivity growth in the short run, but the ‘invention of a new method of invention’ which increased technological progress in the long run. Since artificial intelligence is potentially a general-purpose technology that raises the productivity of research and development, it may be the basis for a Fourth Industrial Revolution.
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- Published
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- Accepted version
Journal
Oxford Review of Economic PolicyISSN
0266-903XPublisher
Oxford University PressExternal DOI
Issue
3Volume
37Page range
521-536Department affiliated with
- Economics Publications
Full text available
- No
Peer reviewed?
- Yes
Legacy Posted Date
2021-06-01First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date
2021-05-30Usage metrics
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