Data-Driven Automation (opens in new tab)

We build a dynamic model of data-driven automation in which data (i) is heterogeneous and task-specific; (ii) accumulates endogenously as a byproduct of economic activity; and (iii) exhibits spillovers such that data generated by one task can augment the productivity of another. Along the transition path of automation, data plays a dual role in simultaneously augmenting the productivity of already-automated tasks and expanding the automation fro...