AI @ Facebook Overview

1) Machine Learning: Teaching computers to learn without

explicit programming (solve problems from data)

2) Computer Vision: Teaching computers to understand

visual content like images and videos (incl. facial rec)

3) Natural Language Processing (NLP): Computer’s

ability to read and understand language

PLANNING PREDICTION UNDERSTANDING & LEARNING PERCEPTION

AI for Good

Detecting Lung Cancer

AI for Transportation Planning

Sustainable Farming

Transforming Education

AI’s Potential

Source: Analysis Group

$1.5-3T

General Purpose Technology

(GPT)

“…technology with a range of characteristics

which makes it particularly well placed to

generate longer-term productivity increases

and economic growth across a range of

industries.”

The Impacts of Nanotechnology on Companies (OECD, 2010)

AI as a GPT

• Adoption to drive innovation across sectors

• Will generate major social benefits and improve

welfare/productivity

• Spillovers throughout economy as w/ previous

general purpose technologies

“Artificial intelligence, especially machine learning, is

the most important general-purpose technology of our

era. The impact of these innovations on business and

the economy will be reflected not only in their direct

contributions but also in their ability to enable and

inspire complementary innovations. New products and

processes are being made possible by better vision

systems, speech recognition, intelligent problem

solving, and many other capabilities that machine

learning delivers.”

Erik Brynjolfsson & Andrew McAfee (Harvard Business Review, 2017)

Future of Work

Expanding the Public Debate

• AI is a diverse field of study & set of technologies that will be

building blocks for new activity

• Economic trends of last few decades pinned to automation

• Technological unemployment would diverge from previous

General Purpose Technologies (electricity, steam engine)

Labor Productivity

• AI complements work. Incorporating AI into tasks raises

productivity and frees people to do more

• Automation replaces old jobs in some areas and creates new

ones in others

• Labor productivity has declined consistently over the last few

decades

• By some estimates, AI has potential to boost productivity by

up to 40% on an average by 2035

Reasons for Optimism

• New technology creates new demand for labor

• Where automation doesn’t replace labor it complements

• History: steam engine, electricity, farm animals, printing

press

• No finite amount of work to be done (Lump of Labor Fallacy)

• Can’t automate what we don’t understand (human

brain/intelligence)

Public Policy

Education and Training

• Focus on human capital; lifelong learning; upskilling

• Grow pool of STEM grads and high-skill workers

Invest in Research

• Invest in basic AI and machine learning research

• Fund more PhD students and science research

Market Development

• Low barriers to entry for small & innovative firms

• R&D incentives for firms using emerging tech/AI

Insights from Past GPTs