MIT hasn’t just prepared Benjamin Manning for the future of work—it’s driven him to study it. As a PhD candidate at the MIT Sloan School of Management, Manning is exploring how artificial intelligence will transform the way we live and work, particularly as AI systems take on more responsibilities in our digital lives. He’s asking fundamental questions: How should we design AI agents to understand human preferences? What happens when AI begins making decisions on our behalf? His research focuses on creating and evaluating AI agents that act on behalf of individuals, and how their behavior influences markets, institutions, and social systems. Manning’s academic journey reflects a deep commitment to understanding the intersection of technology and human decision-making. He holds a master’s degree in public policy from the Harvard Kennedy School and a bachelor’s in mathematics from Washington University in St. Louis. After working as a research assistant, he knew he wanted to pursue a career in academia. “There’s no better place in the world to study economics and computer science than MIT,” Manning says. “Nobel and Turing award winners are everywhere, and the IT group lets me explore both fields freely. It was my top choice—and when I was accepted, the decision was clear.” Looking ahead, Manning aims to secure a faculty position at a business school, continuing the kind of interdisciplinary research he’s been inspired by at MIT Sloan. “My mentors here do work that pushes the boundaries of what’s possible,” he says. “I want to do the same.” Even in his fourth year, Manning still finds his experience at MIT surreal. “I don’t think that feeling will ever fade,” he says with a smile. “My mom definitely won’t ever get over telling people about it.” He credits MIT with accelerating his intellectual growth. “It’s no exaggeration to say I learned more in my first year as a PhD candidate than in all four years of undergrad,” he says. “The pace is intense, but wrestling with new ideas every day has been incredibly rewarding. It’s given me the tools to do original research in economics and AI—something I never thought I’d be capable of.” One key part of Manning’s research explores how well AI systems can simulate human behavior. He envisions a future where researchers can run millions of behavioral simulations in minutes, rapidly testing experimental designs and identifying promising research paths before investing in costly human studies. “This isn’t about replacing human insight,” he emphasizes. “It’s about amplifying it. Scientists can focus on asking better questions, building theory, and interpreting results, while AI handles the computational heavy lifting.” For Manning, this shift could dramatically speed up social scientific discovery. “We may be moving toward a world where the pace of understanding gets much closer to the speed of economic change,” he says. “That’s an exciting possibility—one I’m deeply committed to helping shape.”