Abstract

This thesis aims to explore the impact of Artificial Intelligence on innovation. Specifically, it examines whether AI should be considered both as a General Purpose Technology and a research tool that can itself be used to increase the rate of innovation. AI can both cause severe disruption in the economy and society and foster economic growth and development. The work begins with a historical and conceptual introduction of the mechanics of AI and a presentation of the institutions that regulate innovations (intellectual property rights). It then focuses on the impact of AI on innovation, both through a qualitative analysis of the different ways in which AI can be deployed and through the deployment of traditional and new indicators to detect GPTs in patent data.