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AI at the Margins: Power, Prediction, and Who Gets to Decide? with Avi Goldfarb
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In this episode of Canada’s Economy, Explained, host Marwa Abdou sits down with Avi Goldfarb—Rotman Chair in Artificial Intelligence and Healthcare at the University of Toronto, and co-author of Prediction Machines and Power and Prediction.
Goldfarb is one of the world’s leading economists on the business implications of AI. Together, they examine why Canada, despite its early leadership in AI research, is lagging in adoption. Goldfarb explains that AI’s real power isn’t automation—it’s prediction. And while Canada has outstanding academic talent and AI research hubs, it hasn’t yet translated that strength into broad commercial or public-sector impact. “We’re still figuring out what the organization of the future looks like,” he says in the episode, while cautioning that hesitation gives global competitors time to scale. They explore the economic promise of AI in healthcare, education, and public services, as well as the risks of overregulation, particularly with laws like Bill C-27. Goldfarb offers a clear message: Canada must act now or risk falling behind.
Links:
- Prediction Machines: The Simple Economics of Artificial Intelligence (2018)
- Power and Prediction: The Disruptive Economics of Artificial Intelligence (2022)
- Machine Intelligence and Human Judgment (IMF - June 2025)
Other Resources:
- Four Battlegrounds: Power in the Age of Artificial Intelligence by Paul Scharre
- The Work of the Future: Building Better Jobs in an Age of Intelligent Machines by David Autor, David A. Mindell and Elisabeth B. Reynolds
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