Economics of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Platforms

1.5 Unit

Artificial intelligence is transforming economic organization, competition, and innovation. This course examines how AI and digital platforms reshape productivity, market structure, and regulation--and what those changes imply for economic leadership in the twenty-first century. Students explore how algorithms influence pricing, labor markets, and information flows; how data acts as a new form of capital; and how AI-driven business models alter competition and public policy. The course combines economic reasoning with applied analytical work using AI tools. Students learn to detect hallucinations, verify quantitative claims, and evaluate AI-generated models and text for accuracy and logic. The emphasis is on critical thinking and practical analysis: students use AI to test hypotheses, build simple models, and evaluate how automation changes economic outcomes. Prereq: ECON 102 AND ( ANTH 319 or OPRE 207 or SOCI 307 or STAT 201 or STAT 301 or STAT 312 ).