- Economics
- Answering Challenges to Advanced Economies
- Reforming Education
Tyler Cowen is bullish on the integration of AI into higher education. He’s also not worried about its effects on the future workplace. Listen as Cowen speaks with EconTalk’s Russ Roberts about the reasons for his optimism, and argues that college classes should devote significant time to learning how to use AI. They discuss the future of writing (and thinking) in an academic context, and Cowen's solution to dealing with worries about cheating. Cowen also shares how he personally has adapted to AI, and whether he thinks there’s value to a college education designed not to ensure mastery of a subject, but instead to help students become the kind of people they want to be.
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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Tyler Cowen is the Holbert L. Harris Chair of Economics at George Mason University and serves as chairman and faculty director of the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. With colleague Alex Tabarrok, Cowen is co-author of the popular economics blog Marginal Revolution, co-founder of the online educational platform Marginal Revolution University, and host of the podcast, Conversations with Tyler.
RELATED SOURCES
- Marginal Revolution, Tyler Cowen's Blog
- Tyler Cowen on X
- Tyler Cowen's EconTalk Episodes
- "My AI and education talk at the University of Austin" Lecture by Tyler Cowen
- "Workers are using AI to sneak out for spin classes and skip lunch meetings—and new research shows they’re clawing back 30 minutes a day" by Orianna Rosa Royle in Fortune Magazine. March 25, 2026
- "OpenAI’s Altman takes jabs at Anthropic, says government should be more powerful than companies" by Ashley Capoot on CNBC. March 5, 2026
- Sam Altman on Start-ups, Venture Capital, and the Y Combinator
- "Economic Possibilities for our Grandchildren (1930)" by John Maynard Keynes
- Lorne Buchman on Creativity, Leadership, and Art
- Walter William's Exam Questions
- Noah Smith's X post comparing his enjoyment of AI to the pleasures of social media before he saw how destructive it was,
- Tyler Cowen on Stubborn Attachments, Prosperity, and the Good Society
- "Stubborn Attachments: A Vision for a Society of Free, Prosperous, and Responsible Individuals" by Tyler Cowen on Amazon
- "A New Year’s letter to a young person: Take the messy job" by Luis Garicano on Silicon Continent
