Google Expands AI & Economy Team with Leading Economists

Google has significantly expanded its AI & Economy Research Program, appointing leading economists and research directors to study the macroeconomic and labor market impacts of artificial intelligence. The initiative builds upon the recently launched AI & Economy ATLAS v1.0, an interactive open-access platform designed to track how individuals and organizations integrate AI tools into professional and daily workflows. Recognizing that technological transformation requires a multidisciplinary approach, Google is deepening its collaboration with academia, industry leaders, and policymakers to map AI’s trajectory across productivity, global technology diffusion, and scientific discovery. The expanded team brings together distinguished academic advisors and visiting fellows to model long-term economic shifts. Philippe Aghion, the 2025 Nobel Laureate in Economics and professor at INSEAD and the Collège de France, joins as an academic advisor alongside Michael Spence and Diane Coyle, focusing on innovation-led growth and the macroeconomic effects of AI. Ajay Agrawal, professor at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School, will serve as a visiting fellow, collaborating with MIT’s David Autor to examine the economics of AI, robotics, and human welfare expansion. On the empirical research side, Anu Madgavkar and Daniel Rock have been named co-directors of the AI & Economy Research Program. Madgavkar, formerly a partner at the McKinsey Global Institute, will lead studies on global AI diffusion, small business ecosystems, and generative AI’s workforce impacts. Rock, previously at the Wharton School, will bridge frontier model telemetry with econometric analysis to evaluate enterprise productivity and labor restructuring. Both will work alongside Alex Imas, Director of AGI Economics at Google DeepMind, and Zanna Iscenko, AI & Economy Lead in Google’s Chief Economist’s Office. The program’s expanded capacity aims to translate real-time data into actionable insights for organizations, workers, and policymakers. By identifying effective training frameworks, organizational practices, and public policy structures, Google intends to ensure AI adoption upskills the workforce, democratizes access to expertise, and fosters broadly shared economic prosperity. Stakeholders can access ongoing publications, interact with global datasets, and monitor ATLAS updates at ai.google/economy.