L'economia dell'IA: come la sostituzione cognitiva cambierà il lavoro

Abstract

This paper examines artificial intelligence (AI) as a general purpose technology and explores both its benefits and risks. The argument unfolds in five parts: the economic features of AI as a cross-sectoral technology, historical lessons from disruptive innovations, the analysis of transformations in human labor, the distinction between automation and integration, and the prospects of hybrid intelligence systems. The paper shows that dystopian risks arise less from industry concentration than from the nature of complementary investments and the recombination of tasks. It emphasizes the crucial role of education—both deep technical specialization and interdisciplinary adaptability—in strengthening human skills that remain resilient to substitution. AI thus emerges not as an inevitable threat, but as a challenge to redesign institutions, education, and human capital, so that its development may foster innovation, social welfare, and human flourishing.