Prediction Machines: The Simple Economics of Artificial Intelligence
Authors: Ajay Agrawal, Joshua Gans, Avi Goldfarb – University of Toronto
[…]in “Prediction Machines,” three eminent economists recast the rise of AI as a drop in the cost of prediction. With this single, masterful stroke, they lift the curtain on the AI-is-magic hype and show how basic tools from economics provide clarity about the AI revolution and a basis for action by CEOs, managers, policy makers, investors, and entrepreneurs. When AI is framed as cheap prediction, its extraordinary potential becomes clear: Prediction is at the heart of making decisions under uncertainty. Our businesses and personal lives are riddled with such decisions.; Prediction tools increase productivity–operating machines, handling documents, communicating with customers.; Uncertainty constrains strategy. Better prediction creates opportunities for new business structures and strategies to compete.
AI may transform your life. And Prediction Machines will transform your understanding of AI. This is the best book yet on what may be the best technology that has come along.
Lawrence H. Summers, Harvard University
Advice and Dissent: Why America Suffers When Economics and Politics Collide
Author: Alan S. Blinder- Princeton University
Economists must change how they conceptualize issues, frame policy prescriptions, and deliver advice. Politicians need to improve their understanding of basic economics, and use it more as a guide to good policy and less as a tool for political spin. Neither is easy, however, because of the radically different civilizations from which economists and politicians hail. Plainly put, neither group understands the other. This book is an attempt to bridge the gap.
Alan Blinder’s book is a thoughtful and witty exploration of what he calls the Lamppost Theory–the proposition that politicians who make economic policy rely on economic experts for support, not for illumination. As a leading academic, a veteran of the policy wars in Washington, and a witty prose stylist, Blinder is ideally placed to explain the policy process in all its messiness and to suggest some practical options for getting better results.
Ben Bernanke, Brookings
Humans as a Service – The Promise and Perils of Work in the Gig Economy
Author: Jeremias Prassl – University of Oxford
This book offers an engaging account of work in the gig economy across the world. Competing narratives abound: on-demand gigs offer entrepreneurial flexibility – or precarious work, strictly controlled by user ratings and algorithmic surveillance. Platforms’ sophisticated technology is the product of disruptive innovation – whilst the underlying business model has existed for centuries. As courts and governments around the world begin to grapple with the gig economy, Humans as a Service explores the challenges of on-demand work, and explains how we can ensure decent working conditions, protect consumers, and foster innovation. Employment law plays a central role in levelling the playing field: gigs, tasks, and rides are work – and should be regulated as such.
Europe’s Brexit – EU Perspectives on Britain’s Vote to Leave
Author: Tim Oliver – European Institute University
This book offers an in-depth, ground-up analysis of the attitudes and opinions of the rest of Europe towards Brexit. Covering the period from David Cameron’s attempt to negotiate EU reform prior to the referendum and closing with the triggering of Article 50, the book charts the individual member states’ response to, coverage of, and political fallout from the UK’s referendum process and result. The aim is to provide a backdrop for the future relations of those states with the UK and their likely positions during the negotiations. Drawing on the research of country experts, the book provides essential context and insight into the likely approach of the European nations towards the UK at this historic juncture.
