Jack Taylor/Getty Images for SXSW London
- Google DeepMind is looking to hire an economist to explore how advanced AI may impact the economy.
- The economist will research the long-term effects of AI on “scarcity, wealth, and distribution.”
- CEO Demis Hassabis has called for an institute of experts to govern artificial general intelligence.
AI may completely transform the economy. Google DeepMind wants someone to find out how.
The company has been advertising for a “Senior AI Economist” in recent weeks to explore what economics would look like in a world with artificial general intelligence — a term for when machine intelligence can match humans in solving tasks.
“You will lead a new area of research, exploring post-AGI economics, the future of scarcity, and the distribution of power and resources in a world fundamentally reshaped by advanced AI,” reads a job posting for the role, which requires a strong background in economics.
One of the job’s responsibilities is to build economic simulations and models “to explore post-AGI scenarios.”
They will also be expected to conduct research on the “long-term economic impacts of AGI, questioning existing assumptions about scarcity, wealth, and distribution.”
Google did not immediately reply to a Business Insider request for comment.
Google isn’t the only one thinking about this problem. Anthropic is advertising for a role writing about the impact of AI on labor markets and economic growth.
‘Radical abundance’
Demis Hassabis has spoken a lot about AI’s impact on large economic systems. The Google DeepMind CEO said in August that reaching AGI could usher in an era of “radical abundance,” but has warned that it could be harmful to society if not handled correctly.
“One of the big things economists should be thinking about is, what does that do to money, the capitalist system, even the notion of companies?” he said at Davos in January, speaking about AGI. “I think probably all that changes.”
Hassabis has repeatedly warned that the impacts of more powerful AI are not yet understood, and has called for the creation of a body of experts to ensure its arrival does not go disastrously wrong.
“Ideally, there will be some institution that is around that could meet the moment, and that would be where you would put a wise international council of very diverse and smart people from different backgrounds,” he said at Davos, describing his idea for a CERN-type international body that bring in philosophers, social scientists, and writers alongside technologists to help safely guide AI systems out of labs and into society.
“But who’s building that institute is what I would ask? And I think we really need that.”
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