Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³» brought together industry leader Dr. David Magerman and Sy Syms School of Business professor Dr. Pablo Hernández-Lagos for a wide-ranging conversation on artificial intelligence on Nov. 18 at the Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³» Museum in Manhattan. The event, titled “Separating Science from Fiction: What AI Means for Jobs, Growth and the Economy,†was sponsored by the Office of Alumni Affairs, the Sy Syms School of Business and the Katz School of Science and Health.
The evening opened with welcoming remarks from Susan Meyers, vice president for institutional advancement and chief advancement officer. Framing the discussion around both excitement and concern, Meyers highlighted that AI’s rapid rise has left many people asking fundamental questions. “What does this mean for my job now and in the future?†she said. “How can I use AI to enhance my work, and how secure and trustworthy is it really?†She noted that while AI will not replace her, it may reshape how she and her team operate, a theme that echoed throughout the program.
The conversation between Magerman, co-founder of Differential Venture Partners and a longtime AI researcher, and Hernández-Lagos, director of the Sy Syms MBA program, explored decades of AI development and the myths shaping today’s public perception. Magerman, who has been working in AI since the 1980s, emphasized that current large language models represent only a narrow slice of the field’s long history.
“There are a lot of people today who think AI was started five years ago,†Magerman said. “Large language models are a very narrow piece of the history.†He traced the evolution of AI from early rule-based systems in the 1960s to breakthroughs in neural networks and today’s transformer-based models, noting that society has often confused flashy demos for true intelligence.
Hernández-Lagos built on that point, describing AI as an iceberg. “We’re only seeing the tip,†he said. “Thousands of scientists have been working for decades on the parts under the surface.†He noted that technological “chills†— the emotional reaction humans feel when machines appear human — often drive hype more than substance.
Both speakers stressed that much of the excitement surrounding today’s AI systems comes from their ability to imitate human language rather than demonstrate real understanding. “Imitating us is very, very hard,†Hernández-Lagos said. “And just because a system can imitate us doesn’t make it intelligent.â€
A significant portion of the evening focused on the economic forces behind the current AI boom. Hernández-Lagos presented data showing that major technology companies are spending more on AI-related infrastructure, particularly data centers and chips, than entire countries spend on national research and development. “One company is spending more than the UK, more than France,†he said. “This is something we haven’t seen before.†Yet, he cautioned, much of that spending flows within the same small group of companies and investors. “We need to be aware that we are part of the hype.â€
Magerman agreed, describing the rapid buildup of AI infrastructure as a “house of cards†and, at times, a “Ponzi scheme,†in which money circulates among the same corporate players and investors, creating the appearance of massive progress and growth. “These companies are passing money around like tokens,†he said. “The appearance of massive investments is what’s juicing the stock prices.†The real risk, he warned, is that the underlying technology may not be capable of delivering the returns the market currently assumes.
The discussion then turned to the impact of AI on the labor market, an area of growing anxiety. Hernández-Lagos noted that the best academic studies to date show only modest effects. “Overall, the effect on jobs so far is very small,†he said. The occupations most exposed to automation include entry-level roles in accounting, software development and clerical work. But the most important finding, he said, is that expertise still matters. “Experts actually receive a compensation bump. If you are an expert, this is going to be a very useful tool.â€
Magerman raised concerns about how companies might train future experts if junior employees rely too heavily on AI. “If you take away the work being done by new hires, how are you going to evaluate who to promote?†he asked. He also noted that the current AI systems are far more expensive to operate than most people realize. “When vendors start charging the real cost, a lot of these AI use cases won’t be cost-effective,†he said.
During the Q&A, audience members asked about bias in AI systems. Both speakers acknowledged that language models trained on the internet inevitably absorb societal biases and that addressing ethical considerations requires confronting human behavior as much as technological design.
Magerman concluded the evening with a broader reflection on capitalism, ethics and responsibility. He contrasted today’s profit-driven technological race with what he called the “constrained capitalism†of the Torah, which includes built-in safeguards to protect human dignity and prevent extreme inequality. “We are allowed to make money,†he said, “but that’s not the purpose. The purpose is to have a balanced society where everyone’s needs are met.†He suggested that values-based economic thinking, rooted in Jewish teachings about fairness, generosity and community, offers a critical counterweight to the unrestrained incentives driving today’s technology markets.
Hernández-Lagos added that universities like Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³» play a vital role in cultivating this broader view, giving students and the public the tools to understand both the promises and the limitations of emerging technologies.
The event reflected Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»â€™s commitment to hosting thoughtful, forward-looking conversations at the intersection of technology, business and society, an area where the University’s faculty, students and researchers continue to lead with depth and distinction.
