"Impacts of technological advances on long term economic growth"-Assessment
Instructions
Weighting/Value: 15%
Word limit: Must not exceed 1,500 words
Submission details: On-Line submission via Moodle Submission.
Academic integrity:
- To reduce the similarity,
- First and foremost, complete your assignment by yourself and independently.
- Secondly, you should NOT repeat the questions in your assignment tasks. Please be noted, this assignment is not a Q&A, but an essay - so please embed these questions in your essay.
- Thirdly, you may put all references in a separate document to be uploaded separately along with your main text.
- Fourthly, make sure to upload your assignment coversheet separately along with your main text.
- Plagiarism is strictly prohibited. You should familiarise yourself with what is plagiarism and university guidelines on plagiarism available here.
Condition for use of generative AI: Generative AI tools are restricted for certain functions in this assessment task: In this assessment, you can use generative artificial intelligence (AI) in order to brainstorming only, but not copy/paste text. Any use of generative AI must be appropriately acknowledged (see Learn HQ).
Criteria for marking:
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Coherence of argument (10 marks) · Relevance to the topic: demonstrate the collection of adequate data and figures to support your arguments (5 marks) · Logical consistency: demonstrate the understanding and appropriate use of economic rationales in the paper (5 marks) |
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Originality (2 marks) · Demonstrate your creativity in the use of facts to support your arguments |
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Presentation (2 marks) · Having a well-structured executive summary and conclusion section · Demonstrate the appropriate use of language and the style of charting in presentation |
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Referencing (1 mark) · Having a minimum of three (3) references (books or articles written in English from reputable publishers*), in addition to the references mentioned in this instructional paper · Demonstrate appropriate use of reference style in the paper (footnotes, endnotes, and etc.) · Note: In the current context, reputable publishers include international organisations, governments, universities, and well-known commercial publishers. Citing newspaper articles is allowed but with caution in checking the sources of information. |
Details of task
Technology is having profound effects on long-term economic growth. Automation and digital
advances are shifting labour demand away from routine low- to middle-level skills to
higher-level and more sophisticated analytical, technical, and managerial skills. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is reshaping the world and blurring the difference between robots and human beings in terms of thinking capacities.
Since its release in November of last year, OpenAI's ChatGPT has been used to write cover letters, create a children's book, and even help students cheat on their essays.
However, more than 1,000 technology leaders and researchers, including Elon Musk, have urged artificial intelligence labs to pause development of the most advanced systems, warning in an open letter that A.I. tools present “profound risks to society and humanity.”
This assignment is to ask our economics students to research into the impacts of technological advances on long term economic growth, in particular, jobs, skills, and wages.
You may start with a class economics paper by Richard Ball on the impact of technology on economic growth to get some economics backgrounds on this topic. The 2016 Economist paper is to address this issue in the context of IT revolution. The McKinsey report updates the context by examining the impacts of AI and machine learning. The more recent article by the Noble-prize winner Paul Krugman discussed the impacts of ChatGPT on skilled jobs
Read the articles
- Richard E. Ball (1957), “The Impact of Technology on Economic Growth”, The American Journal of Economics and Sociology, 1957, Vol. 16, No. 3 pp. 281-290
- Economist (2016), The return of the machinery question
- McKinsey & Company (2018), How will automation affect jobs, skills, and wages?
- Paul Krugman (2022), “Does ChatGPT Mean Robots Are Coming For the Skilled Jobs?”The New York Times, Dec 6, 2022.
Write an essay to address the following issues/questions (this is not a comprehensive list and please feel free to add any issue you want to investigate):
- Within the macroeconomic context, explain the mechanism in which technological advances impact the long-term economic growth.
- What is the “machinery question”? Whether the current advances in AI (such as ChatGPT) differ from the traditional “machinery question”?
- Do you agree that AI has the potential to replace labour forces in some professions? Use one or two real world examples to support your arguments.
- Why did Elon Musk, one of the original investors of OpenAI and the CEO of Tesla (which is an AI-intensive manufactory) argue that I. tools present “profound risks to society and humanity.”?
- How will your own profession be affected by the advances in AI? (Im doing masters in banking and finance)
- From your reading, highlight some policy recommendations to alleviate the negative impacts of AI on jobs, skills, and wages.
- Critically evaluate these policy recommendations.
