These economists say artificial intelligence can narrow U.S. deficits by improving health care

Can artificial intelligence be so transformative as to solve one of the U.S. economy's biggest problems: its skyrocketing fiscal deficit? According to three economists at the Brookings Institution, the answer is yes — AI could prove a positive "critical shock" for the country's fiscal health. 

A working paper released last month by the Center on Regulation and Markets at Brookings projects that under the most optimistic scenario, AI could reduce the annual U.S. budget deficit by as much as 1.5% of gross domestic product by 2044, or about $900 billion in nominal terms, lowering annual budget deficits by roughly one fifth at the end of the 20-year span.

"The use of AI presents the rare — possibly unique — opportunity to expand access to health care information and services while simultaneously reducing the burden on the conventional health care system," the paper's authors, Ben Harris, Neil Mehotra and Eric So, wrote.

While the authors name various channels through which AI can increase productivity, they highlight AI's potential to dramatically improve health care services and public health. 

Not only could AI make American health care more efficient, it might also "democratize" access to the system by giving people more options for preventative medical care — "changing the 'who' and 'where' of health care," the economists wrote.

The economic impacts of a more efficient health care system, and giving individuals more paths to manage their own health, could ease pressure on the government's yawning fiscal deficit, which topped $1.8 trillion in the fiscal year ended Sept. 30. The national debt stands at $36 trillion.

But adopting AI in health care services isn't a sure thing. Plenty of impediments stand in the way of widely