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The Productivity Impetus from Generative AI

July 30, 2026 · 50 min

Show notes

Generative AI has moved from curiosity to everyday tool with remarkable speed. But the big productivity question is not simply whether people are using it; it is whether firms, sectors and economies can turn that use into lasting productivity gains.

This episode of Productivity Puzzles explores the challenges and opportunities that Generative AI presents, centring on a new article just published in the International Productivity Monitor, the joint journal of the Centre for the Study of Living Standards and The Productivity Institute.

Host Professor Bart van Ark is joined by:

  • Martin Baily, Senior Fellow Emeritus at the Brookings Institution
  • Diane Coyle, Bennett Professor of Public Policy and Research Director, Bennett School of Public Policy, University of Cambridge

For more information on the topic:

About Productivity Puzzles:

Productivity Puzzles is brought to you by The Productivity Institute, a research body involving nine academic institutions across the UK, nine Productivity Forums throughout the nation, and a national independent Productivity Commission to advise policy makers at all levels of government. It is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council.

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