Abstract
The growing popularity of AI means that shortly, this tool may be used to conduct business on a larger scale. In this regard, it is important to examine how AI-related algorithms affect entrepreneurship within the framework of Austrian economic theory, in particular about Austrian economist Israel Kirzner’s insights on the entrepreneurial function. Austrian theory assumes that market coordination and adaptability depend on the entrepreneur’s unique ability to identify missed opportunities. Kirzner emphasizes that entrepreneurship is about recognizing and exploiting potential, not pursuing predictable, data-driven optimization—the method of action favored by AI. Combining Kirsner’s remarks with Friedrich Hayek’s theory of spontaneous order, a Nobel Prize winner inscribed in the Austrian School of Economics, one can consider whether AI’s pursuit of predictive accuracy threatens the spontaneous, creative aspect of entrepreneurship. AI can introduce distortions reminiscent of Austrian credit cycles, in which artificial credit expansion destabilizes natural economic rhythms. By analyzing the impact of AI on research on consumer demand for specific goods or services, we can try to predict whether AI will pose a threat to entrepreneurs in this area.
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
AI, ECONOMY, ENTREPRENEURSHIP, HAYEK, KIRZNER
