OpenAI has appointed Dr. Aaron “Ronnie” Chatterji as its first Chief Economist. In this role, Dr. Chatterji will lead research focused on understanding the economic impacts of artificial intelligence (AI) and ensuring its benefits are widely distributed.
Dr. Chatterji, a professor of business and public policy at Duke University, previously served as the Biden White House’s CHIPS coordinator and has held various positions in economic policy, including Acting Deputy Director of the White House National Economic Council and Chief Economist of the U.S. Department of Commerce. He has contributed to the Obama administration as a senior economist on the Council of Economic Advisers.
In his new position, Dr. Chatterji will investigate how AI influences economic growth and job creation, examining the global economic impacts of AI infrastructure and labor market trends. His research aims to inform policymakers and organizations on maximising AI’s benefits while preparing for challenges associated with its adoption.
Dr. Chatterji said, “My career has focused on studying how innovation and entrepreneurship shape our economy and society. I look forward to contributing to research that helps inform how we transition to an AI-driven economy.”
Larry Summers, OpenAI Board Member and former U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, emphasised the importance of Dr. Chatterji's role, saying, “Dr. Chatterji’s understanding of the dynamics that shape our economy will guide OpenAI’s mission to create AI tools that fuel growth and solve complex challenges.”
Dr. Chatterji’s academic work includes two published books and over 30 peer-reviewed articles in fields such as strategic management, economics, and finance.
OpenAI and Lenfest Institute Launch AI Collaborative and Fellowship Program
The Lenfest Institute for Journalism has partnered with OpenAI and Microsoft to support local newsrooms in exploring AI for business sustainability and innovation. The initiative, called the Lenfest Institute AI Collaborative and Fellowship program, will provide grant funding and enterprise credits for experimentation with generative AI.
OpenAI and Microsoft are providing $2.5 million each in direct funding and software credits, totaling up to $10 million for the two-year pilot program. The initiative is in partnership with The Lenfest Institute’s Local Independent News Coalition (LINC), which includes several major independent news organisations in the U.S.
In the first round of funding, five news organisations—Chicago Public Media, Newsday, The Minnesota Star Tribune, The Philadelphia Inquirer, and The Seattle Times—will receive grants to hire a two-year AI fellow.
The fellows will work on projects focused on improving business sustainability and implementing AI technologies within their organisations. These publications will also receive OpenAI and Microsoft Azure credits to assist in developing tools for local news.
Jim Friedlich, executive director and CEO of The Lenfest Institute, said, “Through these fellowships—and by sharing results with the broader news industry—we will help empower local newsrooms to explore, implement, and advocate for AI business solutions.”
Selected projects include Chicago Public Media focusing on AI for transcription and translation, The Minnesota Star Tribune exploring AI summarisation, Newsday developing public data tools, The Philadelphia Inquirer creating a conversational search interface for archives, and The Seattle Times using AI for sales analytics.
On the other hand, OpenAI rival Anthropic recently launched an upgraded Claude 3.5 Sonnet model and the new Claude 3.5 Haiku, along with a public beta for an experimental feature called “computer use.”
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