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Deming, Dozens of Harvard Affiliates Call for Research on AI’s Economic Impact
A Claude advertisement inside the Harvard Square T station. |By Pavan V. Thakkar
By Sebastian B. Connolly, Uy B. Pham, and Summer E. Rose, Crimson Staff Writers
Harvard College Dean David J. Deming and dozens of Harvard affiliates have signed a statement calling for immediate action to understand artificial intelligence’s potential effects on the global economy
The Harvard affiliates joined nearly 3,000 signatories — including 16 Nobel laureates and executives at several leading AI companies — in backing the statement, which warns that AI could dramatically transform the economy for better or worse. It calls for further research into the technology and the development of systems that promote its beneficial uses
“Economists, policymakers and technology leaders must act now to understand the economics of transformative AI and to build the incentives, guardrails, and institutions needed to steer AI in a direction that complements humans and benefits society,” the statement reads
In interviews with The Crimson, faculty members, graduate students, and administrators who signed the statement said it conveyed the urgency of the issue without making absolute predictions about the future of AI
Deming, whose recent research has focused on AI’s impact of artificial intelligence on the economy, said he signed the statement because researchers still lack sufficient data about the technology’s impact
“For me, the spirit of the statement was, ‘We really have to get our act together now to try to understand what’s happening, so that we can figure out the best response as a society,’ which is very different to me than saying, ‘I already know what the right answer is,’” Deming said in a Monday interview
Though Deming said more research is needed, he added that he does not necessarily see Harvard as playing a leading role in AI policy
“We certainly want to know, want to understand how AI is affecting teaching and learning at Harvard, but that’s a bit different than saying Harvard needs to do something to affect AI’s impact in the broader society,” he said
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Though the statement calls for action, it stops short of recommending specific next steps
Harvard Business School professor emeritus Alvin E. Roth, a former president of the American Economic Association, said he was “generally sympathetic” to the statement and compared it to other open letters intended to build consensus among a broader audience
“I’m not an AI scientist, but week by week, it’s becoming more capable, and so that’s pretty interesting,” Roth said. “We have to think about it, therefore, in terms of lots of things that we do, including what we do at universities, including teaching.”
The statement has drawn support across both academia and industry
Microsoft economist E. Glen Weyl, who spent several years as a member of Harvard’s Society of Fellows,said the statement reflects an “ambitious” and forward-looking approach to “redesigning social institutions.”
“AI could generate incredible scientific breakthroughs, or it can generate crap, but it requires discipline and precision,” he said
“The challenge is how do we reshape institutions to sort through those things rather than obey the principles that were relevant to an earlier era,” Weyl added
The statement comes as Harvard is grappling with its own approach to AI in the classroom. Recent recommendations from the Bok Center urged faculty members to consider seated exams and in-person components for major assignments, citing a growing need to ensure students submit their own work amid increasing AI use
But the Faculty of Arts and Sciences does not have a blanket AI policy. As dean, Deming has consistently emphasized the importance of allowing policies to vary across courses
“There’s a huge range of comfort level and willingness to use AI in the classroom at Harvard, and I think that’s all to the good,” Deming said Monday. “I don’t really think we’re at the point, maybe we never will be at the point, where we need to have one policy that applies to all classes.”
—Staff writer Sebastian B. Connolly can be reached at [email protected] or on Signal at sbc.23. Follow him on X @SebastianC4784
—Staff writer Uy B. Pham can be reached at [email protected] or on Signal at ubp.88. Follow him on X @uybpham
—Staff writer Summer E. Rose can be reached at [email protected] or on Signal at ser.85. Follow her on X @summerellenrose
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