What is it about?
Artificial intelligence is changing economic research in ways that go far beyond helping researchers search for information, analyse data, or write computer code. Increasingly, AI systems can carry out several connected research tasks, transforming how studies are designed, checked, and published. This article reviews recent evidence and shows that AI does not improve productivity equally for everyone. Its benefits depend on the task, the user’s experience, their career stage, and the resources available to their institution. AI may therefore increase existing inequalities between researchers, universities, and countries. The article also explains why human oversight remains essential. Researchers must verify not only AI-generated results but also the entire process used to produce them. AI is becoming an important issue for research funding, infrastructure, energy use, and public policy. Ultimately, economists will need to combine new technological capabilities with human judgment, transparency, and responsibility.
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Why is it important?
This article offers a timely update on the rapidly changing relationship between artificial intelligence and economic research. Unlike discussions that treat AI mainly as a tool for writing, coding, or data analysis, it examines AI as a technology that is reshaping the entire research system. A distinctive feature of the article is its focus on emerging AI agents that can perform several connected research tasks. It argues that researchers must therefore validate not only AI-generated results but also the full workflow behind them. The article also brings together recent evidence showing that AI’s productivity benefits vary across tasks, users, career stages, and institutions. By connecting research practice with inequality, infrastructure, public policy, publishing, and peer review, the article provides a broader framework for understanding AI’s impact. It can help researchers, universities, funders, and policymakers make better-informed decisions about adopting AI while protecting transparency, accountability, and human judgment.
Perspectives
I wrote this article because the pace of change in artificial intelligence forced me to reconsider some of my earlier conclusions. What surprised me most was how quickly AI moved from supporting individual research tasks to reshaping entire workflows and institutions. I believe economists should approach these tools with curiosity, but also humility. Their value depends on context, access, and human oversight. For me, the central challenge is preserving responsibility while embracing genuinely useful innovation.
Professor Imre Fertő
Eotvos Lorand Tudomanyegyetem
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Egy évvel később: mit tanultunk az AI és a közgazdasági kutatás kapcsolatáról?, Külgazdaság, January 2026, Kopint Konjuktura Kutatasi Alapitvany,
DOI: 10.47630/kulg.2026.70.5-6.3.
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