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AI may be starting to show up in the productivity data
Signs of its effects are already starting to peek through.
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In some cases, half of the increase in productivity came from AI use at the company and industry level.
PHOTO: LIANHE ZAOBAO
Soumaya Keynes
Visions of an artificial intelligence-infused world can be a little scary. Perhaps our brains will dull as we outsource intellectual struggle to our digital assistants. Perhaps – brace yourself – your jaunty economic analysis will come from a confident large language model (LLM), rather than a harried human.
I prefer to daydream about a sunnier scenario, in which our new digital tools deliver huge productivity gains. So perusing the latest data and evidence, where are the glimmers of light? One lies in the excitingly strong headline labour productivity growth in both Britain and US.
