Humans, machines, & entrepreneurship : an agenda to harness the potential of emerging technologies

Abstract

We live at a time of technological change that is unprecedented in its pace, scope, and breadth of potential impact. Technological progress, specifically general purpose technologies, is the main driver of aggregate economic growth. It increases productivity, which is what determines the wealth of nations and the living standards of individuals. However, despite impressive technological advancements, productivity growth has actually slowed. Entrepreneurship, particularly innovation-driven entrepreneurship, is recognized as the central change agent to unlocking technological advances, driving productivity improvement, and advancing social transformation. However, literature demonstrates that despite stories in the media, innovation-driven entrepreneurship and business dynamism has steadily declined over the past twenty years. We provide four recommendations aimed towards helping society harness recent technological advances and translate them into improved living standards. We then apply these recommendations to contribute to our understanding of how we might best accelerate the development of entrepreneurs and new entrepreneurial ventures that leverage AI and digital technologies for good of society in ethical ways.