Dan Björkegren
@dbjork.bsky.social
Digital data/machine learning/economics, focused on developing economies. Faculty at Columbia. dan.bjorkegren.com
Also, search results are low quality. Only 2% of results were from in-country. We asked teachers to rate responses, without telling them how the response was generated. Teachers rate AI responses as more helpful, relevant, and correct than web search results.
February 25, 2025 at 8:01 PM
Also, search results are low quality. Only 2% of results were from in-country. We asked teachers to rate responses, without telling them how the response was generated. Teachers rate AI responses as more helpful, relevant, and correct than web search results.
Because querying an AI is 3,107x more data efficient, AI is already 87% cheaper than loading a web page for our teachers in Sierra Leone.
February 25, 2025 at 8:01 PM
Because querying an AI is 3,107x more data efficient, AI is already 87% cheaper than loading a web page for our teachers in Sierra Leone.
Why don’t teachers use web search? First, because search is slow and expensive. The average web page uses 3,107x more data than the corresponding AI response (!)
February 25, 2025 at 8:01 PM
Why don’t teachers use web search? First, because search is slow and expensive. The average web page uses 3,107x more data than the corresponding AI response (!)
What do teachers use AI for? Mostly for facts and conceptual questions.
February 25, 2025 at 8:01 PM
What do teachers use AI for? Mostly for facts and conceptual questions.
85% of sub-Saharan Africans have mobile broadband signal, but few use the internet. Internet users use WhatsApp—but seldom web search (see plot).
We study a GPT-based chatbot accessible through WhatsApp. Sierra Leonean teachers use AI more than web search (leapfrog!)
We study a GPT-based chatbot accessible through WhatsApp. Sierra Leonean teachers use AI more than web search (leapfrog!)
February 25, 2025 at 8:01 PM
85% of sub-Saharan Africans have mobile broadband signal, but few use the internet. Internet users use WhatsApp—but seldom web search (see plot).
We study a GPT-based chatbot accessible through WhatsApp. Sierra Leonean teachers use AI more than web search (leapfrog!)
We study a GPT-based chatbot accessible through WhatsApp. Sierra Leonean teachers use AI more than web search (leapfrog!)
New working paper: Could AI leapfrog the web?
Only 37% of sub-Saharan Africans use the internet. Cost is the #1 constraint. In a study with 469 teachers in Sierra Leone, we find AI works better than the web--and is 87% cheaper.
arxiv.org/abs/2502.12397
Let's dive in... 🧵(1/X)
Only 37% of sub-Saharan Africans use the internet. Cost is the #1 constraint. In a study with 469 teachers in Sierra Leone, we find AI works better than the web--and is 87% cheaper.
arxiv.org/abs/2502.12397
Let's dive in... 🧵(1/X)
February 25, 2025 at 8:01 PM
New working paper: Could AI leapfrog the web?
Only 37% of sub-Saharan Africans use the internet. Cost is the #1 constraint. In a study with 469 teachers in Sierra Leone, we find AI works better than the web--and is 87% cheaper.
arxiv.org/abs/2502.12397
Let's dive in... 🧵(1/X)
Only 37% of sub-Saharan Africans use the internet. Cost is the #1 constraint. In a study with 469 teachers in Sierra Leone, we find AI works better than the web--and is 87% cheaper.
arxiv.org/abs/2502.12397
Let's dive in... 🧵(1/X)
New technologies allow--and may require--new ways of organizing society. How might education, economies, and governance be rethought for an AI era? That is the topic of my new course AI Institutions at Columbia SIPA.
November 20, 2024 at 6:17 PM
New technologies allow--and may require--new ways of organizing society. How might education, economies, and governance be rethought for an AI era? That is the topic of my new course AI Institutions at Columbia SIPA.