AI, Jobs, and the Value of Ideas w/ Benjamin Shiller, Brandeis University

Mar 14, 2026

Benjamin Shiller, Associate Professor of Economics at Brandeis and author of AI Economics, discusses how AI amplifies the value of original ideas and creative judgment. He explores AI as a co-pilot that reshapes job skill premiums, the promise of scalable personalised tutoring, lags in measurable productivity boosts, and risks like concentrated corporate power and automated warfare.

Ask episode

AI Snips

Chapters

Books

Transcript

Episode notes

ADVICE

Hire Graduates Who Can Operate AI Co Pilots

Teach and hire workers who know how to use AI as a co-pilot: prompt effectively, vet outputs, and integrate results.
Entry-level roles will persist for those who can do the grunt work of working with AI and reporting usable results.

INSIGHT

AI Handles Routine Research But Not Method Innovation

AI can automate routine research tasks like coding and data collection, but not the creation of new methods or novel research questions.
Shiller expects a shift in academic work toward scarce skills that AI poorly replicates, preserving many research roles.

INSIGHT

Humans Learn With Little Data And Think Big

Humans retain advantages where learning from limited data and forming big-picture ideas matters.
Shiller contrasts human drivers learning quickly versus AI needing vast miles of training for self-driving safety.

Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode

Get the app

AI can write essays, generate code, and assist with research, but does that mean it will replace human workers? Economist Benjamin Shiller, author of AI Economics, joins show host Gene to discuss how AI may instead make human creativity and ideas even more valuable. In this conversation with Gene Tunny, they explore AI’s potential impact on jobs, productivity growth, education, and inequality, as well as the risks the technology could pose.

Gene would love to hear your thoughts on this episode. You can email him via contact@economicsexplored.com.

About this episode’s guest: Benjamin Shiller

Benjamin Shiller is an Associate Professor of Economics at Brandeis University. His research on personalized pricing, ad-blocking, and technological change has been published in leading journals and covered in The Atlantic, The Economist, Forbes, Fortune, The Guardian, and The Washington Post.

Takeaways

AI may increase the value of human ideas.
Benjamin Shiller argues that while AI is excellent at turning ideas into polished text or code, it still struggles to generate genuinely original ideas. That means creativity, judgment, and insight may become more valuable in the AI age.
Workers who know how to use AI will have an advantage.
Rather than fully replacing professionals, AI may function as a “co-pilot.” Graduates who can effectively use AI tools — prompting them, checking outputs, and integrating them into workflows — could be in strong demand.
AI could dramatically improve education through personalised tutoring.
Shiller highlights Bloom’s two-sigma problem, which shows that personalised tutoring can dramatically improve student outcomes. AI tutors could provide personalised learning at scale, potentially transforming education systems.
Productivity gains from AI may take time to appear.
Like earlier technologies such as electricity or computers, AI may require years before its benefits show up in productivity statistics as businesses learn how to integrate it effectively.
5. AI brings serious risks alongside its benefits.
While AI could boost productivity and living standards, Shiller warns about potential downsides — including labour market disruption, social isolation from AI companionship, and the possibility of automated AI-driven warfare.

Timestamps

00:00 – Introduction
03:08 – Using AI to write a book
06:11 – The explosion of AI-generated content
15:11 – AI, jobs, and the labour market
21:23 – Can AI automate research?
25:57 – AI blind spots and the “kangaroo problem”
31:29 – Bloom’s two-sigma problem and AI tutors
37:42 – Will AI boost productivity?
42:30 – Inequality, regulation, and AI risks
49:19 – AI and the dangers of automated warfare
53:34 – Key takeaways and closing

Links relevant to the conversation

Benjamin Shiller’s website:

https://benjaminshiller.com/

AI Economics: How Technology Transforms Jobs, Markets, Life, & Our Future:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0G45MKBZT

Lumo Coffee promotion

10% of Lumo Coffee’s Seriously Healthy Organic Coffee.

Website: https://www.lumocoffee.com/10EXPLORED

Promo code: 10EXPLORED