Establish whether AI’s benefits outweigh its transitional costs
Establish whether the benefits generated by Artificial Intelligence will outweigh its associated costs and whether economic systems can successfully adapt to the labor-market disruptions, adjustment costs, inequality, market concentration, governance challenges, and transitional social tensions created by AI.
References
The central economic question surrounding AI is therefore whether the benefits generated by AI will outweigh the associated costs and whether economic systems can successfully adapt to the changes it creates.
— AI and the Economy: An Economic Examination of Production, Distribution, Firms, Labor, and Welfare
(2609.01263 - Zeytoon-Nejad, 1 Sep 2026) in Section 7.5, Reasons for Optimism, Reasons for Caution, and the Central Economic Question