Position: The Pace of AI Innovation Demands Matching Urgency in Societal Impact Research to Shape Economic Policy

Wesley Pasfield

TL;DR: The rapid pace of AI innovation demands equally urgent research into societal impacts to inform policy interventions that preserve economic mobility and protect individual opportunity

Abstract: This position paper argues that society must pursue research into artificial intelligence's (AI) societal impacts with the same urgency that characterizes current technical development. While billions flow into advancing AI capabilities, our understanding of potential societal transformations remains dangerously incomplete. Asymmetric adoption of AI across industries, driven by varying regulatory pressures and institutional constraints, threatens to create economic disruption before society can adapt. As AI capabilities advance, we risk fundamental changes to labor markets and educational systems before developing adequate adaptation strategies. AI's unique Network effects and rapid implementation capabilities create unprecedented challenges for traditional institutional adaptation. Drawing detailed parallels between Major League Baseball (MLB's) economic structure and emerging patterns in AI-automated knowledge work, we identify mechanisms that could accelerate opportunity concentration, while exploring educational institutions' vulnerability to these changes and identifying critical research priorities.

Primary Area: Social, Ethical, and Environmental Impacts

Keywords: AI, LLM, Automation, Societal Impacts

Submission Number: 384