Is it valuable for tech & AI people to try to learn economics? I very much enjoy doing so, but it certainly hasn’t led to direct benefits or directly relevant contributions. So what is the point? (I think there is a point.)
It’s good to know enough to not be tempted to jump to conclusions about AI impact. I’m a big fan of the kind of arguments that the Epoch & Mechanize founders post on Twitter. A quick “wait, really?” check can dispel assumptions that AI must immediately have a huge impact, or conversely that AI can’t have an unprecedentedly fast impact. This is good for sounding smart. But not directly useful (unless I’m talking to someone who is confused).
I also feel like economic knowledge helps give meaning to the things I personally work on. The most basic version of this is when I familiarize myself with quantitative metrics of impact of past technologies (“comparables”), and try to keep up with how the stuff I work on tracks. I think it’s the same joy that some people get by watching sports and trying to quantify how players and teams are performing.
Is it valuable for tech & AI people to try to learn economics? I very much enjoy doing so, but it certainly hasn’t led to direct benefits or directly relevant contributions. So what is the point? (I think there is a point.)
It’s good to know enough to not be tempted to jump to conclusions about AI impact. I’m a big fan of the kind of arguments that the Epoch & Mechanize founders post on Twitter. A quick “wait, really?” check can dispel assumptions that AI must immediately have a huge impact, or conversely that AI can’t have an unprecedentedly fast impact. This is good for sounding smart. But not directly useful (unless I’m talking to someone who is confused).
I also feel like economic knowledge helps give meaning to the things I personally work on. The most basic version of this is when I familiarize myself with quantitative metrics of impact of past technologies (“comparables”), and try to keep up with how the stuff I work on tracks. I think it’s the same joy that some people get by watching sports and trying to quantify how players and teams are performing.