AI, Economics, and Business Conference at USC

• This symposium is a live in-person event in Los Angeles with no cost.
• It is open to the public and requires registration.
• Light lunch and breakfast will be served.
• You can drop by in and out throughout the day to check out the sessions that interest you.

Co-hosted by the USC Dornsife Department of Economics and the USC Marshall Initiative on Digital Competition, will be held on Friday, October 17, 2025 from 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM at USC David Conference Center, Vineyard Room.

The event brings together speakers from both academia and industry, featuring distinguished faculty from USC, MIT, UC Berkeley, UCLA Anderson, UCSB, UPenn, University of Washington, and Wisconsin School of Business, together with leaders from Google, Microsoft, and Redfin.

Attendees are welcome to join throughout the day – attend for the entire day or drop in for the panels that interest you most.

Event Schedule:

MORNING SESSION

8.00 am - Coffee, registration

8.45 am - Welcoming remarks (Caroline Betts (USC) and D. Daniel Sokol (USC))

9.00 am - SESSION I. “AI, LABOR, AND THE ECONOMY”

• Chair: Simon Quach (USC Economics)
• Gregor Schubert (UCLA Anderson)
• Lucas Kremens (University of Washington)
• Zhengyi (Isaac) Yu (USC Economics)

10.30 am COFFEE BREAK

10.45 am – SESSION II. “MACHINE LEARNING AND ECONOMETRICS”

• Chair: Timothy Armstrong (USC Economics)
• Ashesh Rambachan (MIT)
• Vira Semenova (Berkeley)
• Kyohei Okumura (Wisconsin School of Business)

12.15 pm - LUNCH

AFTERNOON SESSION

1.45 pm - SESSION III. “AI AND HUMAN BEHAVIOR”

• Chair: Nicolas Lambert (USC Economics)
• Kevin He (University of Pennsylvania)
• Daniel Martin (UCSB)
• Lindsey Raymond (Microsoft and MIT)

3.15 pm COFFEE BREAK

3:45 pm A CONVERSATION

• Moderator: Marianne Andries (USC Economics)
• Panelists:
• Aviv Nevo (George A. Weiss and Lydia Bravo Weiss University Professor, UPenn)
• Preston McAfee (Distinguished Scientist, Google)
• Chen Zhao (Head of Economic Research, Redfin)

About USC Marshall Initiative on Digital Competition

The continued and rapid growth of digital platforms has generated questions about the consequences for society, business, and the global economy.

The USC Marshall Initiative on Digital Competition aims to discover insights on these questions through a collaboration of industry practitioners and academics from business disciplines as well as non-business disciplines (e.g. computer science, economics, law, communications); and disseminate these insights to a broad set of audiences that includes academics, business leaders, and the public.

Learn more at bit.ly/USC_ID

About USC Dornsife Department of Economics

The Department of Economics brings together students, scholars, and alumni in a dynamic environment that fosters education, research, and community engagement. Our mission is to inspire intellectual curiosity and critical thinking while equipping students with a strong foundation in economic theories, principles, and their real-world applications.

Committed to academic excellence, the department champions interdisciplinary approaches to economic research and consistently ranks among the top 20 research institutions in the United States.

Learn more at dornsife.usc.edu/econ/

This program is open to all eligible individuals. USC Marshall Initiative on Digital Competition operates all of its programs and activities consistent with the University’s Notice of Non-Discrimination. Eligibility is not determined based on race, sex, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or any other prohibited factor.

Individuals with disabilities who need accommodations to attend this event may contact Emily Chang at etchang@usc.edu. We request that individuals requiring accommodations or auxiliary aids such as sign language interpreters and alternative format materials notify us at least 7 days prior to the event. Every reasonable effort will be made to provide reasonable accommodations in an effective and timely manner.