Anthropic and University of Chicago BFI Partnership for AI Economic Research

Anthropic has partnered with the University of Chicago's Becker Friedman Institute for Economics (BFI) to study the impact of artificial intelligence on labor markets and the economy. This collaboration aims to combine Anthropic's research data with BFI's economic expertise to provide policymakers and researchers with more robust, empirical insights into how AI is transforming the workforce.

AI Economic Research Objectives

The partnership focuses on three primary areas of inquiry to move beyond simple narratives of automation and develop a more precise understanding of AI's economic patterns:

Productivity Measurement

Economists at BFI will investigate how the adoption of AI affects traditional measures of productivity across various economic sectors.

Labor Market Transitions

Research will analyze the shifts in occupational tasks and the specific skills required as AI adoption increases across the workforce.

Distributional Impacts

The collaboration will study how the benefits and challenges associated with AI adoption are distributed across different segments of society.

Implementation and Resources

To facilitate this research, Anthropic is providing BFI faculty economists with specific tools and training:

• Claude for Enterprise: Faculty economists will be granted access to Claude for Enterprise to utilize AI in their research workflows.
• Training and Workshops: Anthropic will provide training sessions on applying AI in economic research and virtual workshops focused on the research used to measure AI's economic impacts.

Integration with the Anthropic Economic Index

This partnership is an extension of the Anthropic Economic Index, an initiative dedicated to tracking AI's effects on the economy over time. According to Anthropic, AI use is distributed unevenly across the economy, exhibiting complex patterns that defy simple automation narratives. By integrating the Economic Index data with BFI's expertise in labor markets and productivity dynamics, the partnership seeks to inform economic policy, workforce development, and technology governance.

Institutional Perspectives

"The tools of economics will aid us all in understanding the full implications of AI’s impact on society," said Benjamin Krause, Executive Director at BFI. "This partnership creates a structured framework for University of Chicago economists to engage directly with the data, developing more rigorous and nuanced analyses that can inform policy discussions."

"The Anthropic Economic Index provides a foundation of data, but maximizing its research value requires expertise from economists who who understand labor markets, productivity dynamics, and policy implications," said Sarah Heck, Head of Policy, Programs and Partnerships at Anthropic.