Economics of Transformative AI
The Economics of Transformative AI (EconTAI) Initiative is a research center at the University of Virginia founded and directed by Professor Anton Korinek, alongside UVA economists Basil Halperin and Lee Lockwood. Launched in September 2025, it is the first dedicated research center focused on understanding and preparing the economy for AI systems that may match or exceed human-level intelligence. The initiative engages in cutting-edge research, policy translation, and public education, analyzing how transformative AI will reshape labor markets, productivity, inequality, and economic growth. Its work is organized around nine Grand Challenges including economic growth, innovation, income distribution, decision-making power, geoeconomics, information flows, safety risks, human well-being, and transition dynamics.
Funding Details
- Annual Budget
- -
- Monthly Burn Rate
- -
- Current Runway
- -
- Funding Goal
- -
- Funding Raised to Date
- -
- Fiscal Sponsor
- -
Theory of Change
EconTAI operates on the premise that transformative AI could reshape the economy more dramatically and swiftly than any previous innovation in human history, but our understanding of AI's economic implications is lagging far behind the pace of technological development. By producing rigorous economic research on how transformative AI will affect growth, labor markets, inequality, market concentration, information flows, and geopolitics, and by translating that research into accessible policy analysis, EconTAI aims to equip policymakers, institutions, and society with the economic insights needed to redesign labor laws, tax systems, social insurance programs, antitrust regulations, and macroeconomic policies. The initiative also addresses AI safety risks directly as one of its nine Grand Challenges, recognizing that even low-probability catastrophic outcomes justify large investments in alignment research. By building the field of economics of transformative AI and training the next generation of researchers, EconTAI seeks to ensure that the transition to transformative AI leads to shared prosperity rather than exacerbating inequality or concentrating power.
Grants Received
from Survival and Flourishing Fund
Projects
No linked projects.
People
No linked people.
Discussion
Sign in to join the discussion.
No comments yet. Be the first to share your thoughts.
Details
- Last Updated
- Mar 19, 2026, 3:46 AM UTC
- Created
- Mar 18, 2026, 11:18 PM UTC