Will A.I.
Episodes
Notes
Freakonomics Radio · 692. What Will A.I. Do to (and for) Human Creativity?
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How Far Along Is Workplace AI Adoption?
Workplace AI adoption is not even at first base. Malik says over 50% of American workers seem to be using AI, and the share is probably higher, but companies have barely begun to integrate AI work. He says that is why 2025 showed no deep productivity impact from AI.
The run-up had three phases. In the 2010s, AI meant using a lot of data to make decisions: algorithms that power TikTok, recommend movies to buy, set prices people will pay, and choose where to site the next store. Money poured into data as the new oil. The launch of ChatGPT moved the field to generative AI, built around back-and-forth work with chatbots. At the end of last year came the agentic era, when a system can take an in
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What Is AI as a Creative Calculator?
One panelist sees AI as a creative calculator. On the question of how far AI destroys jobs and how far it creates new opportunities, the claim is direct: use AI as an enhancer, and keep a skilled person in charge of the work.
A structural engineer who comes to do a house renovation and says they will do all the maths on paper with their own brain, and will not use a calculator, should be told to get out. Creative work follows the same rule. Creative expertise goes on top of an enhancer, and the enhancer is the creative calculator that is AI. A good structural engineer is still required. A great script writer is still required to use the tools.
The calculator does not remove the person. Ref