Research Assistant Exploring the Economics of Technological Progress, Innovation, and Artificial Intelligence

One year term based on grant funding. 

The starting date is flexible and can be any time between January-September, 2025.

Work is primarily on-site in the lab. 

We cannot sponsor visas for this position.

‍Position Overview 

MIT FutureTech is seeking a Research Assistant to work with Dr. Danial Lashkari on projects related to economics of technological progress, innovation, and artificial intelligence. 

Salary

$50,000 per year, plus benefits. 

Principal Duties and Responsibilities (Essential Functions**) 

• Cleans and analyzes data.
• Writes or finalizes replicable data files or scripts for publication.
• Assists with writing data analysis plans and contributes to preparing study registration documents.
• Maintains technical and administrative support for a research project.
• Analyzes and maintains data. Conducts literature reviews. Assists with preparation of reports, manuscripts and other documents.
• Subject to interest, help in formulating economic models and implementing programs for implementation of their quantitative predictions.
• Performs other related work as needed.

Supervision Received 

Reports to Project Director.

Works under moderate oversight.     

Supervision Exercised

‍Manages project staff 

Qualifications & Skills 

 Education:

• Bachelor's degree in economics, public policy, or a related field.
• Master’s degree in economics, public policy, or a related field.

Experience:

• Experience in econometrics.
• Knowledge of the basics of economic modeling.
• Working as a research assistant.
• Analyzing large data sets, applying econometrics methods.
• Machine learning techniques in data analysis.

 Technical Skills or Knowledge:

• Knowledge of Stata, Python, Matlab, Julia, or R required
• Knowledge of LaTeX preferred

Preferred Competencies

• Advanced knowledge of research technique and methods in relevant scientific field.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Manage multiple projects simultaneously and meet tight deadlines.
• Work both independently and as a team member.
• Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail.

About MIT FutureTech 

MIT FutureTech is an interdisciplinary group of  economists, computer scientists, and engineerswho study the foundations and economic implications of progress in computing and Artificial Intelligence.  Economic and social change is underpinned by advances in computing: for instance, improvements in the miniaturization of integrated circuits, the discovery and refinement of algorithms, and the development and diffusion of better software systems and processes. We aim to identify and understand the trends in computing that create opportunities or risks and help leaders in computing, scientific funding bodies, and government to respond appropriately. 

Our research therefore helps to answer important questions including: Will AI progress accelerate or decline – and should it? What are the implications for economic growth and for the labor markets? What are the bottlenecks to growth from AI, and how can they be solved? What are the risks from AI, and how can we mitigate them? 

To support our research, we run seminars and conferences to better connect the field of computer scientists, economists, and innovation scholars to build a thriving global research community. 

To disseminate it, we advise governments, nonprofits and industry, including via National Academies panels on transformational technologies and scientific reliability, the Council on Competitiveness’ National Commission on Innovation and Competitiveness Frontiers, and the National Science Foundation’s National Network for Critical Technology Assessment. 

Our work has been funded by Open Philanthropy, the National Science Foundation, Microsoft, Accenture, IBM, the MIT-Air Force AI accelerator, and the MIT Lincoln Laboratory. 

Some of our recent outputs:  

• The AI Risk Repository: A Comprehensive Meta-Review, Database, and Taxonomy of Risks from Artificial Intelligence 
• Beyond AI Exposure: Which Tasks are Cost-Effective to Automate with Computer Vision? 
• How industry is dominating AI research   
• The Quantum Tortoise and the Classical Hare: A simple framework for understanding which problems quantum computing will accelerate (and which it will not)  
• A workshop on AI scaling and its implications for AI development, automation, and more  
• The Great Inflection? A Debate About AI and Explosive Growth   
• There’s plenty of room at the Top: What will drive computer performance after Moore’s law?   
• Deep Learning's Diminishing Returns: The Cost of Improvement is Becoming Unsustainable  
• America’s lead in advanced computing is almost gone  
• The Decline of Computers as a General Purpose Technology: Why Deep Learning and the End of Moore’s Law are Fragmenting Computing  
• How Fast Do Algorithms Improve?  

Some recent articles about our research: 

• Techcrunch: MIT researchers release a repository of AI risks 
• CNN: AI and the labor market: MIT study findings 
• TIME: AI job replacement fears and the MIT study 
• Boston Globe: AI's impact on jobs according to MIT 

You will be working with Dr. Danial Lashkari. Danial studies different long-run drivers of economic change, including technological breakthroughs such as IT and AI, the innovation activity of firms, transformations in the consumption patterns of households, and globalization. Since 2023, he has been with the Research and Statistics Department at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. From 2018 to 2023, he was an assistant professor of economics and international studies at Boston College, holding the White Family assistant professorship chair between 2020 and 2023. He has been a Shoven/SIEPR Young Scholar at Stanford University (2021-2022), and a Cowles Foundation postdoctoral associate at Yale University (2017-2018). Danial received a PhD degree from the Harvard economics department (completed in 2017), as well a PhD degree from MIT, where he worked at the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) on a number of applications of machine learning techniques in cognitive neuroscience and neuroimaging (completed in 2011). He holds MSc and BSc degrees from the University of Tehran, Iran.

How to apply

Please use this form to register interest in this role or to submit a general expression of interest.

Selected candidates will be first interviewed via Zoom. We are recruiting on a rolling basis and may close applications early if we find a suitable candidate, so please apply as soon as possible to maximize your chances.

** To comply with regulations by the American with Disabilities Act (ADA), the principal duties in position descriptions must be essential to the job. To identify essential functions, focus on the purpose and the result of the duties rather than the manner in which they are performed. The following definition applies: a job function is essential if removal of that function would fundamentally change the job.

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