Guest Speaker to Explore AI’s Economic Impacts

Economist Nikolai Wenzel will present “AI, Cybercommunism and the Future of Markets” at 7 p.m. April 11 in Violette Hall 1010.

Currently, Wenzel is a research fellow with the Institut Economique Molinari in Paris. He also serves as professor of economics at the Universidad de las Hespérides in Spain, as well as senior research fellow with the American Institute for Economic Research. He recently concluded his role as editor in chief for the Journal of Entrepreneurship and Public Policy.

As part of his recent speaking tour, Wenzel visited Madrid, Athens, Santiago and Guatemala City. He also participated in a U.S. writers’ retreat in Atlanta. In addition to a Bachelor of Science degree in foreign service from Georgetown University, Wenzel has a Ph.D. in economics from George Mason University.

Wenzel’s visit is sponsored by the Economic Speakers Series. His presentation is free and open to the public.

Presentation abstract: Economist Ludwig von Mises famously argued in 1920 that rational economic planning was impossible without property rights. Indeed, no property rights means no prices; no prices means no rational allocation of scarce resources to serve the consumer. Later Austrian economists, such as F.A. Hayek, continued in this tradition, arguing that central planners lacked the knowledge or technical skills to carry out the calculations necessary for central planning of an economy. This formed the core of the mid-20th century argument against communism. In the past decade, with the rise of AI and quantum computing, new voices -- the cybercommunists -- are now arguing that modern computing power can replace the market process, and more efficiently. What does the future hold?