Benjamin F. Jones | AI in Research & Development

Why It Matters

AI‑enhanced R&D could lift productivity and growth, making it a priority for policymakers and investors.

Key Takeaways

• AI can expand researchers' “hallway” beyond narrow expertise
• Human creativity limited by “burden of knowledge” penalty
• AI’s combinatorial search accelerates idea generation and discovery
• Faster R&D translates to higher productivity and economic growth
• Policy must monitor AI’s impact on innovation pipelines

Summary

Professor Benjamin F. Jones, a Kellogg entrepreneurship scholar, explained how artificial intelligence is reshaping research and development. He framed the discussion with a historical view of income and longevity gains, arguing that new ideas—not merely more of the same—drive long‑run prosperity.

Jones illustrated human creativity as a hallway of doors, emphasizing the “burden of knowledge” that forces researchers to stay near their expertise. Empirical evidence from the “pivot penalty” study shows that venturing into unfamiliar domains yields lower impact, and the penalty has steepened over decades.

He contrasted this with AI’s combinatorial search, which can scan vast ingredient spaces and propose novel combinations far beyond a single expert’s reach. Quotes from Einstein and the hallway metaphor highlighted AI’s potential to act as a universal research assistant.

If AI can reliably accelerate the ideas‑production function, R&D productivity could rise, feeding higher output per worker and faster economic growth. Policymakers and central banks therefore need to track AI‑driven innovation pipelines and consider regulatory frameworks that balance benefits with risks.

Original Description

Please join us on April 15 for a live presentation on AI in research and development (R&D) from Benjamin F. Jones, the Gordon and Llura Gund Family professor of entrepreneurship at Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University.

Professor Jones will share a framework for analyzing the impact of AI on R&D. He will discuss how AI accelerates the “ideas production function” and how advances in machine intelligence can transform the productivity gain per unit of R&D investment.

Following his presentation, Professor Jones will answer live and pre-submitted questions with our host moderator, Huiyu Li, co-head of EERN and research advisor at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco.

This is a virtual event hosted by the EmergingTech Economic Research Network (EERN). It is open to everyone and will be livestreamed on this page. A recording will be available after the event.