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Fed study: AI productivity gains are historically slow and structurally invisible

New research from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis indicates that artificial intelligence has not yet led to a measurable increase in aggregate productivity, despite widespread optimism expressed in corporate earnings calls. The study suggests that AI's gains may be 'structurally invisible' because the technology makes outputs cheaper, thus devaluing them and canceling out productivity math. This pattern aligns with historical precedents, such as the slow diffusion of electrification and computers, where significant productivity payoffs took decades to appear in aggregate data. AI

IMPACT AI's productivity benefits may be delayed for decades, mirroring historical technological diffusion patterns, suggesting a long wait for measurable economic impact.

RANK_REASON The article discusses research findings and historical parallels regarding AI's impact on productivity, fitting the 'commentary' bucket.

Read on Fortune →

AI-generated summary · Google Gemini · from 1 sources. How we write summaries →

Fed study: AI productivity gains are historically slow and structurally invisible

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Commentary
The article discusses research findings and historical parallels regarding AI's impact on productivity, fitting the 'commentary' bucket.
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opinion, other
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70 days old
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COVERAGE [1]

  1. Fortune TIER_1 English(EN) · Nick Lichtenberg ·

    Fed study: AI’s slow productivity story fits a century-old historical pattern

    Researchers at the St. Louis Fed looked through 490,000 earnings calls and saw AI productivity surged—but only in talk.