Governing the Future Ten Policy Questions in the Age of AI Economics

A logistics manager in Dubai reroutes ships through an AI-powered trade platform. A policymaker in Riyadh uses an AI-powered model of the national economy to test how fiscal choices affect growth, spending, and debt. A graduate in Astana is turning to an algorithmic jobs accelerator to find her path in global markets.

Across economies and institutions, artificial intelligence is rewriting the rules of decision-making, governance, and value creation. It marks the dawn of a new economic era that is powered by intelligence, driven by insight, and grounded in inclusion. AI Economics is where this transformation takes shape. It represents the fusion of data, technology, and policy into a living system of governance that anticipates shocks, adapts in real time, and empowers people through knowledge and inclusion.

This timely book explores how nations can navigate this transformation through ten defining policy questions that range from redesigning labour markets to rethinking trade, fiscal policy, and institutional trust. Each question translates the promise of artificial intelligence into a practical pathway toward a more resilient, adaptive, and participatory governance, where data becomes foresight and foresight becomes action. AI Economics is not about replacing human judgment. It is about reimagining how intelligence, in all its forms, can serve society with precision and purpose. Provocative, precise and visionary, Governing the Future challenges policymakers, economists and citizens alike to rethink how nations govern in the new age of artificial intelligence.

Fadi Farra is the founder and managing partner of Whiteshield, previously adjunct lecturer at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, and former Head of Unit, OECD. In 2019, he was honoured with the Global Leaders in Consulting Award with Excellence in Innovation. He previously assumed the chairmanship of the Global Agenda Council on the Future of Manufacturing Council at the World Economic Forum.