RIETI Report July 10, 2026

Economics in the Age of AI: A thought experiment on a “fully automated society”

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Dear Readers,

Welcome to RIETI Report. This bi-weekly newsletter will keep you updated with the recent columns, event information and research results by RIETI fellows and other leading economists in Japan and around the world.

In this edition, we are featuring topics related to AI and the Future of the Economy. As AI continues to advance, what economic problems would remain in a “fully automated society” where AI not only partially replaces human labor but also produces most goods and services? In his latest column, RIETI Senior Fellow Dr. Kenta Ikeuchi uses the potential of a fully automated society as a thought experiment to explore what economic challenges would remain and how economics might evolve in the age of AI.

We hope you will enjoy it. If you have any feedback, we would love to hear from you (news-info@rieti.go.jp).
Editors of RIETI Report (Facebook: @en.RIETI / X: @RIETIenglish / URL: https://www.rieti.go.jp/en/)

This month's featured article

Economics in the Age of AI: A thought experiment on a “fully automated society”

IKEUCHI KentaSenior Fellow (Policy Economist), RIETI

In a world where human labor has become unnecessary because of AI, what should be the focus of the study of economics? In the future, if AI and robots have become capable of producing all goods and services necessary for our society, what kind of economic problems could remain?

Of course, a fully automated society is not prediction for the near future. This article imagines such an extreme type of society as a thought experiment designed to consider economic systems in the age of AI. Here, a fully automated society refers not only to one in which corporate production is automated, but also to one in which the legislative, administrative, and judicial functions of government are substantially supported—and in some cases automated—by AI.

>>>To download full text:
https://www.rieti.go.jp/en/columns/a01_0810.html

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