George Mason University, which has two Nobel Prize winners, recently discussed the possibility of Ethereum co-founder Vitlaik Buterin being nominated for the Nobel Prize in Economics on the Podcast of its research center, the Mercatus Center.
The latest episode of the Podcast Marginal Revolution discussed the 2024 Nobel Prize in Economics, possible winners, and missed opportunities, mentioning Vitlaik's contributions to monetary economics, which sparked discussions in the crypto community.
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Toggle10/14 Who is the 2024 Nobel Laureate in Economics?
The hosts first discussed potential winners. Economics professor Tyler Cowen pointed out that American economist Michael Woodford is one of the strong contenders this year, due to his contributions to monetary theory, especially after the successful handling of inflationary challenges in multiple countries. In addition, American economist Susan Athey is also considered a potential future winner for her contributions in incorporating machine learning techniques into economics. Another highly regarded candidate is Pietro Iorio, particularly for his breakthroughs in the field of industrial organization, although his modeling approach is not universally accepted in academia.
Additionally, scholars who have contributed to the theory of political business cycles, Robert Barro, and the legal economist giant Richard Posner, are also considered missed opportunities worthy of recognition.
Vitalik's academic contributions will not be replaced by the rise of AI
With the rapid development of artificial intelligence, the academic world is facing the problem of the declining value of technical contributions. The hosts raised an interesting question: Will there be awards in the future that become outdated due to the prevalence of AI? Tyler mentioned that some technical breakthroughs may become less scarce in the future, as AI can easily generate these results, which may lead to changes in the Nobel Prize committee's evaluation criteria.
However, this also makes one ponder which contributions are still difficult to replace. Ethereum co-founder Vitlaik Buterin is considered one of the potential candidates. The podcast hosts praised his practical contributions to monetary economics and highlighted his innovative thinking in mechanism design.
What will the future Nobel Prize in Economics be like?
At the end of the program, the hosts made predictions about the future of the Nobel Prize in Economics. With the increasing specialization of the discipline, Tyler believes that the Nobel Prize should be discontinued within the next five years to preserve its sense of value. They are concerned that as time passes, the number of laureates will increase, diluting the prestige of the award.
However, they also stated that despite the challenges, the Nobel Prize in Economics has made significant contributions to the world since its inception. In the future, AI technology may become a laureate due to its revolutionary impact on economics, but whether that day will come soon remains to be seen.
