AI people keep reinventing GDP critiques, Stanford researcher on econ literacy
RishiBommasani · x · 2026-10-26
Stanford HAI researcher Rishi Bommasani argues many AI practitioners lack basic economics literacy: how GDP is computed, the distinction from TFP, why GDP counts only final goods, and what it historically correlates with.
He notes AI people often reinvent existing critiques of GDP out of ignorance, and urges technologists to learn the dominant framework economists use to describe how technology drives progress—especially since both sides want to debate progress without talking past each other.
Related event: AI Researchers and Economists Debate What 2% Annual Growth Really Means(3 posts)→
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