Alex Imas
@aleximas.bsky.social
Economics + Applied AI, Prof at University of Chicago Booth School of Business. Formerly: Carnegie Mellon, UCSD, Northwestern. Website: www.aleximas.com
Ethan Mollick@emollick.bsky.social · 5mo agoEconomist Alex Imas has been tracking the evidence on AI and productivity changes, and now thinks that the macro-economic data is, rather suddenly, showing the increase in productivity that we have been seeing in our micro research. aleximas.substack.com/p/what-is-th...
Economist Alex Imas has been tracking the evidence on AI and productivity changes, and now thinks that the macro-economic data is, rather suddenly, showing the increase in productivity that we have been seeing in our micro research. aleximas.substack.com/p/what-is-th...
“Asking ‘will AI replace the artist’ is the same as asking ‘will the camera replace the artist’”, argues @aleximas.bsky.social in the latest instalment of his excellent series of essays on the societal impact of AI. And the answer is No—quite the contrary: buff.ly/4pJiZ71
New post: "Someday We Will All Be Artists" How will AI impact art? Will artists be replaced? No. Art will change, but art makers will be most "automation proof" jobs out there. In fact, many jobs will take on characteristics that we associate with artists. aleximas.substack.com/p/someday-we...
Someday we will all be artists
How AI will change the nature of work and art
aleximas.substack.com
I wrote up some (late) predictions for 2026, mostly as a way to guide my own thinking and priorities. Overall: 2026 is the year we will finally see real visible societal changes in response to AI. Discuss 3 reasons: agents, recursive science, continual learning. open.substack.com/pub/aleximas...
Some (late) predictions for 2026
Outlining how I plan to spend my year.
open.substack.com
New post: What is the impact of AI on productivity? I review all of the studies and data that I can find and try to provide a synthesis. A disagreement emerges: micro studies find positive benefits but these benefits are yet to show up in the macro data. aleximas.substack.com/p/what-is-th... 🧵
What is the impact of AI on productivity?
Reconciling the micro and the macro evidence
aleximas.substack.com
Does this reflect "discrimination"? We can't test this directly. But we think it's likely that there is systemic discrimination by socioeconomic background in academia (Following the very useful framework by Bohren, @instrumenthull.bsky.social @aleximas.bsky.social (20/22)
GPT-5.2 Pro is good enough to check reproducibility & robustness of academic papers across many fields (given the data, can you get the same results? are the statistics brittle?). I wouldn't trust it to automate decisions, but to flag them. It can't do an independent replication with new data, yet.
Some news: I’ve started a Substack, largely focused on AI, tech, and economics more broadly. I've always loved the essay format. It helps me explore ideas more formally w/o the 5 year publishing gauntlet. Consider subscribing: open.substack.com/pub/aleximas... Links to all posts below:
Ghosts of Electricity | Alex Imas | Substack
Essays on the economics of AI and technological change. Click to read Ghosts of Electricity, by Alex Imas, a Substack publication with thousands of subscribers.
open.substack.com
Thaler & Imas (@aleximas.bsky.social ; @rthaler.bsky.social): The Winner's Curse I've read a lot of JDM (pic 2 related) and figured this would be a nice review of behavioral econ. It was that, but also such a great presentation w/ plenty I'd never seen- and I'm a sucker for anyone who praises Simon
have only read the first 1/4, but this by @aleximas.bsky.social looks very interesting on the range of conditions under which unemployment due to automation would lead to demand collapse
Can advanced AI lead to negative economic growth?
Considering the role of demand in the economics of AI
aleximas.substack.com
Thoughtful thread by @aleximas.bsky.social on the potential of AI-driven automation for disrupting the labour market, and how to anticipate it: buff.ly/PWYhkap
I think spot on and applies elsewhere; in volume-driven/time-constrained areas the competitive advantage of AI can make it an strategic necessity even if the new equilibrium is worse for everybody.1/ by Leonardo Bursztyn, @aleximas.bsky.social @rafaeljjd.bsky.social Aaron Leonard & Christopher Roth
Social Dynamics of AI Adoption
Founded in 1920, the NBER is a private, non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to conducting economic research and to disseminating research findings among academics, public policy makers, an...
nber.org
I'm excited to share access to a video of the conversation @angeladuckworth.bsky.social & I hosted at Wharton w/ our brilliant friends @rthaler.bsky.social & @aleximas.bsky.social about their new book THE WINNER'S CURSE & how behavioral econ has evolved in the last 30 years. youtu.be/hH8UgQb-x4A?...
The Anomalies That Changed Economics | Richard Thaler and Alex Imas
YouTube video by Behavior Change For Good Initiative
youtu.be
it was so much fun to host @rthaler.bsky.social and @aleximas.bsky.social @upenn.edu for a conversation about The Winner’s Curse and the evolution of behavioral economics. missed it? check out the recording on the @bcfginitiative.bsky.social youtube channel! youtu.be/hH8UgQb-x4A
Behavioral Economics, Then and Now: A Conversation With @aleximas.bsky.social — behavioralscientist.org/behavioral-e...
.@rthaler.bsky.social and @aleximas.bsky.social teamed up to update The Winner's Curse, a landmark book in behavioral economics. In doing so, they chart where behavioral economics began, where it is now, and where it could go next. behavioralscientist.org/behavioral-e...
Behavioral Economics, Then and Now: A Conversation With Alex Imas - by Heather Graci - Behavioral Scientist
Alex Imas and Richard Thaler teamed up to update a landmark book in behavioral economics. In doing so, they chart where behavioral economics began, where it is now, and where it could go next.
behavioralscientist.org
Happy pub day to THE WINNER'S CURSE by @rthaler.bsky.social + @aleximas.bsky.social! The original (1992) version of this book changed my life -- it's the reason I study judgment and decision making. For a preview of the new edition, check out my Q&A w/ the authors t.co/n3ThOxpJak
Next was a great discussion with @aleximas.bsky.social and Richard Thaler on changing perspectives around behavioral economics anomalies at the Julis-Rabinowitz Center for Public Policy & Finance www.youtube.com/watch?v=7v8O... (6/7)
Alex Imas and Richard Thaler on Behavioral Economics Anomalies: Then and Now
YouTube video by Markus' Academy
youtube.com
ONE WEEK! The Society for Neuroecon conference is in Cambridge, MA in 1 week! We are thrilled to have @amberalhadeff.bsky.social and @aleximas.bsky.social as the speakers for our neuroscience and social/decision science workshops neuroeconomics.org/workshops/
Workshops - Society For Neuroeconomics
neuroeconomics.org
‼️Event Alert‼️ Join @angeladuckworth.bsky.social & @katymilkman.bsky.social for a conversation with Nobel Prize winning economist @rthaler.bsky.social and Professor @aleximas.bsky.social about their new book, The Winner’s Curse. 📅 Thurs, Oct 23 | 4-5PM 📍 Huntsman Hall G06 📩RSVP: bit.ly/4nbI9EG
Why do students lie about using AI? Chicago Booth's @aleximas.bsky.social talks about perceptions of AI use in the classroom. www.chicagobooth.edu/review/podca... #econsky
Why Students Lie About Using AI
Chicago Booth’s Alex Imas talks about perceptions of AI use in the classroom.
chicagobooth.edu
#QJE Aug 2025, #2, “Systemic Discrimination: Theory and Measurement,” by Bohren, Hull (@instrumenthull.bsky.social), and Imas (@aleximas.bsky.social): doi.org/10.1093/qje/...
Systemic Discrimination: Theory and Measurement*
Abstract. Economists often measure discrimination as disparities arising from the direct effects of group identity. We develop new tools to model and measu
doi.org
Congrats to all faculty who have been recognized for their stellar contributions! We're especially thrilled to celebrate the eleven Chicago Booth faculty on this list, among them CAAI Faculty Affiliate @aleximas.bsky.social! news.uchicago.edu/story/twenty...?
Twenty-six UChicago faculty members receive named, distinguished service professorships in July 2025
news.uchicago.edu
Paper by @aislinnbohren.bsky.social @instrumenthull.bsky.social and @aleximas.bsky.social on Systemic Discrimination now published in QJE academic.oup.com/qje/article/...
Systemic Discrimination: Theory and Measurement*
Abstract. Economists often measure discrimination as disparities arising from the direct effects of group identity. We develop new tools to model and measu
academic.oup.com
AI can be overconfident. So a team of researchers came up with a solution: Give AI a way to evaluate and calibrate its own uncertainty, allowing a user to decide how much to trust a prediction. www.chicagobooth.edu/review/how-a...
How AI Can Make Smarter Predictions
Researchers gave AI a way to evaluate and calibrate its own uncertainty.
chicagobooth.edu
The gutting of US biomedical research with loss of ~2,500 grants affecting research for cancer, Alzheimer’s, infectious disease, global health and much more www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
"You need some way of actually measuring people’s beliefs or their preferences if you wanna test these behavioral stories around bubbles," says Chicago Booth’s Leland Bybee. www.chicagobooth.edu/review/in-it... #econsky #ai
In Its Expectations for the Economy, AI Is Surprisingly Human
AI, designed to mimic the appearance of human reasoning, also forms predictions about the economy in human-like ways.
chicagobooth.edu
Our work now published showing how better AI can improve both accuracy and diversity in hiring relative to supervised learning tools and status-quo human hiring.
The Review of Economic Studies (REStud)@reveconstudies.bsky.social · last yr.Li, @lindseyraymond.bsky.social & @peterbergman.bsky.social show that incorporating exploration into an interview screening algorithm improves demographic diversity & hiring efficiency, while traditional supervised learning-only tools improve hiring rates at the expense of minority applicants. 👇
