The following are the main points you should have learned from this chapter:

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  The digital economy puts the emphasis on information rather than matter.

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  The atoms-to-bits transformation, dematerialization, and AI reduce friction in economic transactions, speeding them up.

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  The process of disintermediation, the elimination of intermediary roles, is enabled by AI. It is disruptive to employment patterns in the digital economy.

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  Machine learning systems, trained on massive datasets, may embody racist, sexist, and other attitudes demeaning of human dignity.

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  There are concerns about the alignment between human values and AI systems, in both the short term and the long term.

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  AI applications are permeating the economy, eliminating the need for many skills and increasing the demand for other skills.

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  Transportation and sustainability are two areas of potentially beneficial applications of AI.

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  Ethical codes, legislation, regulation, and certification are being developed to restrict harmful applications of AI.