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The Economics of AI: How to Master the "Prediction Function"

Publish: September 08, 2021

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  • Kotaro Tsuru

    Graduate School of Business and Commerce Professor

    Kotaro Tsuru

    Graduate School of Business and Commerce Professor

Around the mid-2010s, pessimism regarding AI, including its impact on employment, spread rapidly. This was likely due to the vague perception of AI as a "robot with intelligence nearly identical to humans," where fear of the "unknown" and "unintelligible" took precedence.

The complexity of human nature is such that we often feel interest and curiosity toward such subjects. While acknowledging that AI is fundamentally different from previous technological innovations¡ªsuch as its encroachment into human tacit knowledge¡ªI have maintained a desire to correct the excessive pessimism toward AI since that time.

More than five years have passed since the period when pessimism toward AI spread. As the use of AI has rapidly permeated business and daily life, excessive pessimism seems to have receded somewhat. Furthermore, numerous books on AI have been published, many of which carefully explain its basic functions and provide specific examples.

However, what concerned me was that many discussions still "cannot see the forest for the trees." While people look at the "trees" by delving into AI functions or introducing individual cases, they surprisingly rarely look at the "forest" by examining the impact of AI on the economy and society as a whole. If that is the case, wouldn't it be meaningful to comprehensively evaluate the impact of AI on the economy and society, based on many systematically organized examples and research results from my specialty, economics? This is what inspired me to write this book.

The title of this book is "The Economics of AI," but traditionally in the publishing world, it was common wisdom that books with titles like "The Economics of..." do not sell. It is likely true that for the general reader, economics feels overly difficult and has a high barrier to entry. However, by introducing abundant examples, I have tried to ensure that even high school students without knowledge of economics can read through it.

I hope that for readers who embark on this journey to see the "forest" of AI, their view of AI will change from something "unknown" to an "important existence that can build a bright future together by complementing and coexisting with humanity."

Kotaro Tsuru

Nippon Hyoron Sha

200 pages, 1,870 yen (tax included)

*Affiliations and titles are as of the time of publication.

Writing Notes