Fall 2026 Department of Economics Seminar: “From Homo Economicus to Silicon-Based Humans: The Three Roles of Qualitative Data and AI” — A Talk by Hsuan-Hao Lo
On October 2, 2026, the Department of Economics at National Dong Hwa University invited Hsuan-Hao Lo, a Ph.D. student at the Institute of Management of Technology, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, to deliver a seminar entitled "From Homo Economicus to Silicon-Based Humans: The Three Roles of Qualitative Data and AI." The seminar explored how artificial intelligence is expanding research methodologies in economics and the social sciences.
Lo pointed out that economics is already at the forefront of AI research. Economists such as Susan Athey, Sendhil Mullainathan, and Erik Brynjolfsson have applied machine learning, large language models (LLMs), and AI agents to decision-making, empirical analysis, and economic simulations. For economics students, AI is not a new technology unrelated to their field of study, but rather an opportunity to integrate emerging technologies with their existing knowledge of economic theory and research methods.
During the seminar, Lo demonstrated how GABRIEL can be used to measure, classify, and organize large volumes of qualitative data using AI. He explained three distinct roles of AI in research: as a tool, a research subject, and a simulated respondent. He then illustrated how personas representing different backgrounds and circumstances can be developed to design simulation-based studies. Using Microsoft's Magentic Marketplace as an example, he demonstrated how AI agents can represent consumers and merchants in market interactions, providing economics researchers with simulated environments in which market behavior can be observed, analyzed, and compared. He encouraged students to build on their training in economic theory and empirical research while incorporating AI tools to develop new research questions and applications.
Finally, Lo shared his academic journey, describing how he gradually broadened his research interests from finance to information management and technology management. He encouraged students to participate in competitions to explore their interests and discover the practical value of what they learn. He also introduced the concept of the "Forward-Deployed Engineer," encouraging students to bring AI technologies into real-world settings to solve practical problems and discover their own irreplaceable value in the age of AI.