Gabriel Demombynes
@gabrieldemombynes.bsky.social
Manager of the World Bank's Human Capital Project, Berkeley Econ PhD, UT-Austin BS Civil & Environmental Engineering & BA Plan II
Reposted by Gabriel Demombynes
Interesting interview with Bill Gates about where big progress can be made in alleviating health problems in developing countries & why he will sunset his foundation www.nytimes.com/2025/05/08/m...
The $200 Billion Gamble: Bill Gates’s Plan to Wind Down His Foundation
www.nytimes.com
May 8, 2025 at 2:45 PM
Interesting interview with Bill Gates about where big progress can be made in alleviating health problems in developing countries & why he will sunset his foundation www.nytimes.com/2025/05/08/m...
Reposted by Gabriel Demombynes
New from Microsoft Research & Harvard Business School colleagues
"Shifting Work Patterns with Generative AI" by Eleanor Wiske Dillon, Sonia Jaffe, Nicole Immorlica, Christopher T. Stanton
arxiv.org/abs/2504.11436
"Shifting Work Patterns with Generative AI" by Eleanor Wiske Dillon, Sonia Jaffe, Nicole Immorlica, Christopher T. Stanton
arxiv.org/abs/2504.11436
April 19, 2025 at 10:13 PM
New from Microsoft Research & Harvard Business School colleagues
"Shifting Work Patterns with Generative AI" by Eleanor Wiske Dillon, Sonia Jaffe, Nicole Immorlica, Christopher T. Stanton
arxiv.org/abs/2504.11436
"Shifting Work Patterns with Generative AI" by Eleanor Wiske Dillon, Sonia Jaffe, Nicole Immorlica, Christopher T. Stanton
arxiv.org/abs/2504.11436
Reposted by Gabriel Demombynes
Very important research. AI is better & cheaper for communities that don't yet use the web –– meaning it can unlock exponential gains for entire countries.
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)
April 1, 2025 at 9:10 PM
Very important research. AI is better & cheaper for communities that don't yet use the web –– meaning it can unlock exponential gains for entire countries.
Stunning findings on declines in adult cognitive skills. 1st rate journalism from @jburnmurdoch.ft.com on.ft.com/4i9WChW
March 14, 2025 at 7:44 PM
Stunning findings on declines in adult cognitive skills. 1st rate journalism from @jburnmurdoch.ft.com on.ft.com/4i9WChW
Reposted by Gabriel Demombynes
We need to address the flood of plastic pollution asap.
Maybe the crisis in seabirds with multi-organ failure from exposure to plastics will help raise awareness of their serious hazard and lead to action
science.org/doi/10.1126/...
science.org/doi/10.1126/...
March 12, 2025 at 10:42 PM
We need to address the flood of plastic pollution asap.
Reposted by Gabriel Demombynes
I gave a talk earlier this week on how I'm integrating AI into my undergrad econ teaching (and my intro textbook). Lemme share some of the highlights.
March 8, 2025 at 1:59 PM
I gave a talk earlier this week on how I'm integrating AI into my undergrad econ teaching (and my intro textbook). Lemme share some of the highlights.
Reposted by Gabriel Demombynes
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)
One of the most striking points in Stuart Russell’s illuminating CEPR talk going on right now.
AI is Humanity's biggest research bet:
According to Stuart Russell, the budget for AI is about 10x as big as the Manhattan Project and 100x the Large Hadron Collider.
According to Stuart Russell, the budget for AI is about 10x as big as the Manhattan Project and 100x the Large Hadron Collider.
February 25, 2025 at 4:25 PM
One of the most striking points in Stuart Russell’s illuminating CEPR talk going on right now.
Reposted by Gabriel Demombynes
Migration does not have to be what it is now
Innovation can change what migration *is*—more orderly, skilled, integrated, & tangibly beneficial to everyone affected
In 2012 I proposed one way: Global Skill Partnerships
The World Bank just released a major GSP roadmap—> hdl.handle.net/10986/42780
Innovation can change what migration *is*—more orderly, skilled, integrated, & tangibly beneficial to everyone affected
In 2012 I proposed one way: Global Skill Partnerships
The World Bank just released a major GSP roadmap—> hdl.handle.net/10986/42780
February 21, 2025 at 12:02 PM
Migration does not have to be what it is now
Innovation can change what migration *is*—more orderly, skilled, integrated, & tangibly beneficial to everyone affected
In 2012 I proposed one way: Global Skill Partnerships
The World Bank just released a major GSP roadmap—> hdl.handle.net/10986/42780
Innovation can change what migration *is*—more orderly, skilled, integrated, & tangibly beneficial to everyone affected
In 2012 I proposed one way: Global Skill Partnerships
The World Bank just released a major GSP roadmap—> hdl.handle.net/10986/42780
In new work with World Bank colleagues, we show that jobs vary greatly in their exposure to AI, and overall workers in developing countries--especially low-income countries--are less exposed. See our blog for a summary: blogs.worldbank.org/en/investinp...
February 19, 2025 at 10:31 PM
In new work with World Bank colleagues, we show that jobs vary greatly in their exposure to AI, and overall workers in developing countries--especially low-income countries--are less exposed. See our blog for a summary: blogs.worldbank.org/en/investinp...
Reposted by Gabriel Demombynes
A new paper on microplastics accumulating in the brain was just published in Nature Medicine. I've reviewed the background and main findings in a new Ground Truths post erictopol.substack.com/p/the-microp...
February 3, 2025 at 4:06 PM
A new paper on microplastics accumulating in the brain was just published in Nature Medicine. I've reviewed the background and main findings in a new Ground Truths post erictopol.substack.com/p/the-microp...
Reposted by Gabriel Demombynes
The mere physical presence of a one's smartphone causes about a 10% reduction in cognitive capacity—performance on tests of memory & intelligence
But 86% of the experimental subjects, undergraduate students, believed that it had no effect
By Ward et al. in JACR —> dx.doi.org/10.1086/691462
But 86% of the experimental subjects, undergraduate students, believed that it had no effect
By Ward et al. in JACR —> dx.doi.org/10.1086/691462
December 9, 2024 at 1:28 PM
The mere physical presence of a one's smartphone causes about a 10% reduction in cognitive capacity—performance on tests of memory & intelligence
But 86% of the experimental subjects, undergraduate students, believed that it had no effect
By Ward et al. in JACR —> dx.doi.org/10.1086/691462
But 86% of the experimental subjects, undergraduate students, believed that it had no effect
By Ward et al. in JACR —> dx.doi.org/10.1086/691462
Reposted by Gabriel Demombynes
In 10 weeks begins a vast expulsion of US immigrants—with and without lawful immigration status.
Native workers can expect fewer jobs and higher inflation.
I talked with the phenomenal @soumayakeynes.bsky.social of the @financialtimes.com for this 30min podcast —> www.ft.com/content/b35b...
Native workers can expect fewer jobs and higher inflation.
I talked with the phenomenal @soumayakeynes.bsky.social of the @financialtimes.com for this 30min podcast —> www.ft.com/content/b35b...
What does a second Trump presidency mean for immigration? With Michael Clemens
What would the American economy look like without the millions of recent arrivals?
www.ft.com
November 11, 2024 at 8:11 PM
In 10 weeks begins a vast expulsion of US immigrants—with and without lawful immigration status.
Native workers can expect fewer jobs and higher inflation.
I talked with the phenomenal @soumayakeynes.bsky.social of the @financialtimes.com for this 30min podcast —> www.ft.com/content/b35b...
Native workers can expect fewer jobs and higher inflation.
I talked with the phenomenal @soumayakeynes.bsky.social of the @financialtimes.com for this 30min podcast —> www.ft.com/content/b35b...
Reposted by Gabriel Demombynes
A vast deportation campaign will begin in 11 weeks.
The new US president will order national guard troops to sweep public and private locations across the homeland, to seize and deport "millions per year".
🧵 A thread on research about the economic impacts to expect
www.nytimes.com/2023/11/11/u...
The new US president will order national guard troops to sweep public and private locations across the homeland, to seize and deport "millions per year".
🧵 A thread on research about the economic impacts to expect
www.nytimes.com/2023/11/11/u...
Sweeping Raids, Giant Camps and Mass Deportations: Inside Trump’s 2025 Immigration Plans
If he regains power, Donald Trump wants not only to revive some of the immigration policies criticized as draconian during his presidency, but expand and toughen them.
www.nytimes.com
November 6, 2024 at 8:19 PM
A vast deportation campaign will begin in 11 weeks.
The new US president will order national guard troops to sweep public and private locations across the homeland, to seize and deport "millions per year".
🧵 A thread on research about the economic impacts to expect
www.nytimes.com/2023/11/11/u...
The new US president will order national guard troops to sweep public and private locations across the homeland, to seize and deport "millions per year".
🧵 A thread on research about the economic impacts to expect
www.nytimes.com/2023/11/11/u...
China Daily republished one of my essays on AI global.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202401/06/...
January 6, 2024 at 5:31 PM
China Daily republished one of my essays on AI global.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202401/06/...
3 misconceptions about AI I tackle in my new blog:
1) “AI is not capable of being creative”
2) “AI is out of reach for people in developing countries”
3) “This is like previous technology waves”
blogs.worldbank.org/investinpeop...
1) “AI is not capable of being creative”
2) “AI is out of reach for people in developing countries”
3) “This is like previous technology waves”
blogs.worldbank.org/investinpeop...
Misconceptions about artificial intelligence and what it means for people
In the last few weeks, several people have asked me “what’s the big deal with AI?” I tell them to read the book The Coming Wave by AI pioneer Mustafa Suleyman, which argues that we are at the cu...
blogs.worldbank.org
November 14, 2023 at 2:39 PM
3 misconceptions about AI I tackle in my new blog:
1) “AI is not capable of being creative”
2) “AI is out of reach for people in developing countries”
3) “This is like previous technology waves”
blogs.worldbank.org/investinpeop...
1) “AI is not capable of being creative”
2) “AI is out of reach for people in developing countries”
3) “This is like previous technology waves”
blogs.worldbank.org/investinpeop...
World Bank Global Director for Education Luis Benveniste at Civil Society Forum event on human capital at WB Annual Meetings. Highlights that 2/3 of 10 year olds in developing countries cannot read and understand a basic text #wbmeetings
October 12, 2023 at 10:39 AM
World Bank Global Director for Education Luis Benveniste at Civil Society Forum event on human capital at WB Annual Meetings. Highlights that 2/3 of 10 year olds in developing countries cannot read and understand a basic text #wbmeetings
Anna Bjerde of World Bank at WB-IMF Annual Meetings: bringing women’s labor force participation rates up to those of men would boost economic output by 20%
October 11, 2023 at 2:13 PM
Anna Bjerde of World Bank at WB-IMF Annual Meetings: bringing women’s labor force participation rates up to those of men would boost economic output by 20%
