Stanford summer course: Economics of Transformative AI
Phil Trammell an economics postdoc at the Digital Economy Lab, Stanford University.*
Zach Mazlish is an economics doctoral student at the University of Oxford.
As readers of this forum well know, some claim that advanced AI will greatly
accelerate economic growth,
displace labor, and/or
risk existential catastrophe.
We are preparing a course this August at Stanford on a selection of tools in (mainly) economic theory relevant to evaluating and expanding on the first two claims, and deciding what to do (altruistically) if some or all of them seem likely.
More information about the program may be found here.
Dates: August 16-29
The course is designed to be most suitable for graduate students in economics, but others prepared to get a lot out of the content are also encouraged to apply, including strong undergraduates, and students of computer science. Some of the lectures will be given by guest lecturers, including Chad Jones, professor of economics at Stanford GSB.
The course itself will be free of charge.
We also hope to offer some or all attendees room, board, and transportation reimbursement.
Applications close on February 21, 5pm Pacific Time.
Applicants will be notified by March 7, 5pm Pacific Time whether they have been accepted and the details of the accommodation provided, or in the event that the course will be canceled.
* In 2022 and 2023, I organized “ETGP”, a summer course in Oxford on topics in economic theory relevant to effective altruism more broadly. The present course is formatted similarly to ETGP, and in many ways the content is an extension of the AI-relevant content from ETGP.
A summary of the feedback may be found here (2022) and here (2023).
Some testimonials from 2022 attendees may be found in the comments here.
A summary of the feedback from a recent follow-up survey may be found here.
Nice stuff!
Does this in any way relate to the course (and fast track) BlueDot announced recently?
Thanks! No—I’ve spoken with them a little bit about their content but otherwise they were put together independently. Theirs is remote, consists mainly of readings and discussions, and is meant to be at least somewhat more broadly accessible; ours is in person at Stanford, consists mainly of lectures, and is meant mainly for econ grad students and people with similar backgrounds.
Hi, can students studying from other countries also apply for this? If yes, what charges and/or scholarships are entailed?
Hello, thank you for your interest!
Students from other countries can indeed apply. The course itself will be free of charge for anyone accepted.
We also hope to offer some or all attendees room, board, and transportation reimbursement, but how many people will be offered this support, and to what extent, will depend on the funding we receive and on the number, quality, and geographic dispersion of the applicants. When decisions are sent out, we’ll also notify those accepted about what support they are offered.