TYPE OF PROJECT:

• Institutional Scientific-Research Project

PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION PERIOD:

• October 1, 2025 – September 30, 2029

PROJECT LEADER AND TEAM MEMBERS:

Project Leader:

• Sanja Blažević Burić, PhD, full professor

Project Team Members (alphabetically ordered):

• Kristina Afrić Rakitovac, PhD, full professor
• Andrej Grbin, MSc (Econ.)
• Tea Hasić, PhD, assistant professor
• Ines Kersan-Škabić, PhD, tenured professor
• Sabina Lacmanović, PhD, full professor
• Suzana Laporšek, PhD, associate professor
• Nawazish Mirza, PhD, full professor
• Danijela Rabar, PhD, associate professor
• Dean Sinković, PhD, associate professor
• Saša Stjepanović, PhD, associate professor
• Marinko Škare, PhD, tenured professor
• Lela Tijanić, PhD, full professor
• Daniel Tomić, PhD, full professor

SHORT PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

The AFRaiD project explores the profound social and economic changes resulting from the rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI) and related technologies. AI is increasingly shaping production, employment, communication, and decision-making processes. Nevertheless, the social sciences continue to lag in understanding its real impacts. Existing studies are often fragmented and provide limited empirical evidence about the links between technological progress, economic growth, and labor markets.

The project focuses on analyzing the macroeconomic and microeconomic effects of AI, including its impact on productivity, employment, wages, and measurement systems such as GDP, which are becoming increasingly inadequate in the digital era. Within the project, new indicators will be developed and tested to more precisely describe economic processes in the age of AI.

The research encompasses a wide range of topics—from changes in financial markets, international trade, and the green economy to the role of human resources, regional development, and legal regulation. The project’s multidisciplinary nature is reflected in the integration of economic, sociological, legal, technical, behavioral, and ethical perspectives.

The AFRaiD project represents an important contribution to understanding the emerging “machine economy” and its implications for contemporary society, providing a scientific foundation for future research and the development of informed public policies in the field of artificial intelligence.

PROJECT OBJECTIVES:

The general objective of the project “Artificial Intelligence in the Perspectives of Growth and Development” (AFRaiD) is to synthesize, clarify, and advance current knowledge about the effects of artificial intelligence (AI) on economic growth and development. The project seeks to fill a scientific gap in understanding the economic and social consequences of AI implementation, particularly in the areas of international relations, the green economy, labor markets, financial markets, inequality, poverty, consumer welfare, regulation, and ethical issues related to technological progress.

A key goal of the project is to develop new indicators and methods for measuring AI’s impact, with an emphasis on improving existing economic measures such as GDP, which no longer reflect the true effects of the digital economy. By applying modern empirical models and techniques (DCGE, SEM, SVAR, SVARFIMA, DEA, ML), the project will establish new approaches for analyzing the effects of automation, productivity, and market transformations driven by AI.

The project also carries an important social dimension, aiming to build a scientific database and empirical evidence that will enable a deeper understanding of the relationship between technological advancement, economic growth, and social welfare. AFRaiD encourages interdisciplinary collaboration and public dialogue on AI’s role, raising awareness of its opportunities and risks.

The ultimate outcome of the project is the creation of a systematic, empirically grounded framework that will allow scientists, policymakers, and the broader community to better understand the impact of artificial intelligence on the economy and society as a whole.

PROJECT HOLDER: Juraj Dobrila University of Pula