Program
September 12, 2024
5:30-7:30pm: Welcome Reception – Garden of the Associates (Dabney Gardens) - invited speakers and participants only
September 13, 2024
8:30 – 9:00am: Breakfast – Baxter Lecture Hall, Mezzanine
9:00 – 9:15am: Opening Remarks
Caltech and the Division of Humanities and Social Sciences Welcome
Workshop logistics - Michael Alvarez, Beatrice Magistro, Sophie Borwein, Bart Bonikowski, and Peter Loewen
9:15 – 10:45am: Panel 1: Technological Change and Politics – Chair, Beatrice Magistro
Paper 1: 9:15 – 9:40am (15 min presentation + 10 min Q&A)
“The Path from Automation to Right-Wing Populism,” Valentina Gonzalez Rostani (Princeton University)
Paper 2: 9:40 – 10:05am (15 min presentation + 10 min Q&A)
“Foreign Competition and Technological Attitudes,” Nicole Wu (Hong Kong University)
Paper 3: 10:05 – 10:30am (15 min presentation + 10 min Q&A)
General Q&A: 10:30 – 10:45am
10:45 – 11:00 am: Coffee Break
11:00am – 12:05pm: Panel 2: AI, Elections, and Political Communication – Chair, Michael Alvarez
Paper 1: 11:00 – 11:25am (15 min presentation + 10 min Q&A)
Paper 2: 11:25 – 11:50am (15 min presentation + 10 min Q&A)
General Q&A: 11:50am – 12:05pm
12:05 – 2:00pm: Lunch (Baxter North Patio) - invited guests only
2:00 – 3:00pm: Panel 3: The Distributional Effects of Generative AI – Chair, Sophie Borwein
Paper 1: 2:00 – 2:25pm (15 min presentation + 10 min Q&A)
Paper 2: 2:25 – 2:50pm (15 min presentation + 10 min Q&A)
“Who is Afraid of Technological Change?” Tobias Tober (University of Konstanz)
General Q&A: 2:50 – 3:00pm
3:00 – 3:15pm: Coffee Break
3:15 – 4:45pm: Panel 3: The Distributional Effects of Generative AI – Chair, Sophie Borwein
Paper 3: 3:15 – 3:40pm (15 min presentation + 10 min Q&A)
“The Uneven Impact of Generative AI on Entrepreneurial Performance,” David Holtz (UC Berkeley)
Paper 4: 3:40 – 4:05pm (15 min presentation + 10 min Q&A)
Paper 5: 4:05 – 4:30pm (15 min presentation + 10 min Q&A)
General Q&A: 4:30 – 4:45pm
5:00-6:30pm: Poster Session and Drinks at The Athenaeum, East Patio - for invited speakers and guests
Paolo Agnolin (Bocconi University)
Chloe Ahn (University of Pennsylvania)
Bhavana Bheem (University of Illinois – Urbana Champaign)
Christopher Dictus (RAND and UVA)
Sanghyun Han (Georgia Tech)
Michael Herndon (UCLA)
Nicolas Lagos (Rutgers)
Mitchell Linegar (Caltech)
Eddie Yang (UCSD)
6:30-9:00pm: Dinner for invited speakers and guests at The Athenaeum, Main Lounge
September 14, 2024
8:30 – 9:00am: Breakfast – Baxter Lecture Hall, Mezzanine
9:15 – 10:45am: Panel 4: Public Opinion on AI Regulation – Chair, Bart Bonikowski
Paper 1: 9:15 – 9:40am (15 min presentation + 10 min Q&A)
Paper 2: 9:40 – 10:05am (15 min presentation + 10 min Q&A)
Paper 3: 10:05 – 10:30am (15 min presentation + 10 min Q&A)
General Q&A: 10:30 – 10:45am
10:45 – 11:00 am: Coffee Break
11:00am – 12:30 pm: Panel 5: The Economic and Political Foundations of AI – Chair, Beatrice Magistro
Paper 1: 11:00 – 11:25am (15 min presentation + 10 min Q&A)
“From Populism to Platforms: Antitrust Law and the AI Revolution,” Victor Menaldo (University of Washington)
Paper 2: 11:25 – 11:50am (15 min presentation + 10 min Q&A)
“AI and Innovation,” Ethan Bueno de Mesquita (University of Chicago)
Paper 3: 11:50 – 12:15pm (15 min presentation + 10 min Q&A)
“Responsible & Trustworthy AI: UK’s Economic Landscape Analysis,” Ramit Debnath (Cambridge University)
General Q&A: 12:15 – 12:30pm
12:30 – 1:30pm: Lunch (Baxter North Patio) - invited guests only
1:30 – 3:00pm: Panel 6: Attitudes Toward AI – Chair, Peter Loewen
Paper 1: 1:30 – 1:55pm (15 min presentation + 10 min Q&A)
Paper 2: 1:55 – 2:20pm (15 min presentation + 10 min Q&A)
Paper 3: 2:20 – 2:45pm (15 min presentation + 10 min Q&A)
General Q&A: 2:45 – 3:00pm
3:00 – 3:15pm: Coffee Break
3:15 – 4:15pm: Panel 7: AI & Challenges and Opportunities for Liberal Democracy and Capitalism – Chair, Bart Bonikowski
Paper 1: 3:15 – 3:40pm (15 min presentation + 10 min Q&A)
“Resilient Democracies,” Carles Boix (Princeton University)
Paper 2: 3:40 – 4:05pm (15 min presentation + 10 min Q&A)
General Q&A: 4:05 – 4:15pm
4:15 – 4:30pm: Closing Remarks
Workshop Organizers: R. Michael Alvarez (Caltech), Bart Bonikowski (NYU), Sophie Borwein (UBC), Peter Loewen (Cornell University), and Beatrice Magistro (Caltech)
For more information, please contact Sabrina Hameister by phone at 626-395-4228 or by email at lcssp@hss.caltech.edu.
Among social scientists, it is widely accepted that technological advancements typically boost productivity, offering widespread benefits. Yet, these innovations often bring about distributional effects. From the 1980s onwards, the rise of automation and new technologies has notably widened income inequality. This shift has favored high-skilled labor by enhancing productivity, while simultaneously marginalizing less-skilled workers. The emergence of generative AI technologies, including advanced tools like ChatGPT, presents fresh challenges and considerations for labor markets. These technologies, capable of executing complex, cognitive tasks across fields such as software development, writing, marketing, and design, represent a significant departure from previous technologies that mainly automated routine tasks. As a result, there is widespread uncertainty about who will benefit and lose from these new AI technologies compared to older ones. Despite this uncertainty, the rapid adoption of these technologies by both workers and firms is undeniable. While politicians have to date had little to say about the distributive consequences of automation and artificial intelligence, it will become increasingly untenable for politicians to ignore their political implications as these technologies fundamentally reshape workplaces.
In light of these developments, our conference seeks to explore a range of questions to better understand the broader implications of this new wave of AI on society and politics.
Navigating the New Frontier: The Political and Economic Implications of AI
Baxter Lecture Hall
California Institute of TechnologySeptember 13-14, 2024