AI Cannot Replace the Atomic Human

Artificial General Vehicle

Philosopher’s Stone

The Attention Economy

Herbert Simon on Information

What information consumes is rather obvious: it consumes the attention of its recipients. Hence a wealth of information creates a poverty of attention …

Simon (1971)

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Human Capital Index

• World Bank Human Capital Index 2020
• UK outperforms USA and China
• Measures health and education

Productivity Flywheel

Inflation of Human Capital

• Strength in Human Capital double-edged sword.
• Automation creates efficiency.
• But skills risk becoming redundant.

Inflation Proof Human Capital

• Does automation totally displace the human?
• Or is there an irreducible core?

Uncertainty Principle

• Machines rely on measurable outputs
  • Quantified aspects of humans easier to automate
  • Essential aspects of humanity are the hardest to measure
• Implies: atomic human is difficult to quantify

Homo Atomicus

• Where we have homo economicus the machine can step in.
• Quantitative vs Qualitative gap
• Homo atomicus is …
  • Not in A-level results
  • Not in hospital waiting lists
  • In the quality of human interaction

New Productivity Paradox

• Current productivity flywheel relies on measurement to translate innovation into productivity.
• Without measurement how does the wheel spin?

From Language Models to Agents

• LLMs → Agentic Systems
• Challenge: Not just technical sophistication
• Question: Whose problems do AI agents solve?
• Risk: Optimizing for measurable metrics, missing real needs

Il Made in Italy e l’Intelligenza Artificiale

• Industrial Districts: Human Networks
• Design Excellence: Tacit Knowledge
• Made in Italy: Cannot Be Automated
• The Challenge: AI as Tool, Not Replacement

Supply Chain of Ideas

• Ideas flow from creation to application like physical supply chains
• Parallels with traditional economic supply chain management
• Particularly relevant for IT and AI solutions

Supply Chain of Ideas

• Current imbalance between supply and demand sides
  • Mismatch between macroeconomic interventions and microeconomic need
• Over-Focus on solutionism
  • technologies/companies
• Under-focus on real-world needs … disconnect between government and citizens … disconnect between companies and customers

Supply Chain of Ideas

• Need to map idea problems demand to idea supply
• Need to understand … problems (demand) … current “stock” of solutions (supply)
• Requires active management of idea resources
• Shape supply to meet demand

AI cannot replace atomic human

Attention Reinvestment Cycle

Technology Transfer: The Real Challenge

• Competence Centers: Bridge Builders
• Not Just Deployment: Capability Building
  
• SME Needs ≠ Big Tech Solutions
• Local Knowledge + Global Technology

Cromford

Distretti Industriali e Reti di Innovazione

• 18th Century Emilia Romagna: Silk, Paper
• 21st Century Challenge: AI + Human Networks
• Strength in Community
• Strength in Diversity
• Strength in Europe
• AI as Infrastructure, Not Replacement

The Next Three Years

• Next 3 Years: Not Just Better Models
• Build: Institutional Frameworks
• Connect: AI to Real Business Needs
• Preserve: What Makes Made in Italy Unique
• Remember: AI Cannot Replace the Atomic Human

Example: Cambridge Approach

ai@cam

How ai@cam is Addressing Innovation Challenges

• A-Ideas (across 20 departments)
• Policy lab (with Bennett, Minderoo)
• HPC Pioneer projects (with RCS, C2D3)
• Accelerate programme (Schmidt Sciences funded)

Innovation Economy Conclusion

• Interact directly with micro-demand
• Release quality attention
• Reinvest human capital in more innovation