The same example also applies in monetary economics sector. Federal reserves, or the central bank that is responsible for issuing monetary policies, also requires the touch of human judgment[5]. Even though machines do all the work to predict inflations and other rates, decision makers still need to discuss what policies to be made, a process that still requires human touch. For instance, decision makers still need to consider the consequences of each policy to other stakeholders, or the effect to its political relations with other countries. Another matter worth noting is also that in political fields, there is a possibility that numbers and data can be misused to achieve political interest. Humans are still important to regulate this predictive analysis to prevent misuse of data by certain parties.
Based on the examples explained above, we can see the current development of technology actually increases productivity of our works. It provides faster, cheaper, and more accurate analysis for us to make better decisions. However, numbers do not speak for themselves. Even though machines are able to generate predictions and accurate analysis, without human judgment to execute the decisions, numbers mean nothing. Hence, as an economist, we should embrace the hype of technology. Artificial intelligence may replace routine tasks in data analysis. However, it becomes an important job for future economists to maintain a hold grip of theoretical expertise while at the same time collaborate with technological advancements. Future automation will take place in no time and we should be ready to adjust our skills needed for future economic industry.
By Ingrid Diah Anggraini, FEB UI 2019, Trainee Divisi Kajian KANOPI 2018
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