NTU team’s AI tool among 14 projects worldwide funded by OpenAI
The tool is able to predict how economic policies such as cash handouts may boost the economy.
Researchers at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) have developed an artificial intelligence (AI) tool capable of predicting economic outcomes related to policies such as cash handouts with greater accuracy than traditional simulation models. The tool, which has not been named, will receive US$100,000 (S$126,800) in funding from OpenAI as part of its commitment to promoting economic opportunity and societal resilience through AI.
The project, led by Nanyang Business School Provost's Chair Professor in Information Systems Hyeokkoo Eric Kwon, will develop and test the tool over the next six months. The AI agent ingests anonymized data from over one million users of a South Korean mobile budgeting app, which does not identify users due to removal of names, bank account numbers, and precise transaction details.
The data covers spending patterns, retailer preferences, and income levels between 2023 and 2025. By understanding complex human behavior patterns, the AI can predict potential economic impacts of proposed policies better than traditional models, which often result from qualitative interviews and surveys, revealing discrepancies between survey responses and actual behavior.
The tool will be validated against real spending data in 2025, recorded before and after the South Korean government distributed cash handouts, to ensure accurate predictions. Over the next two years, the NTU researchers aim to expand the tool's applicability to any population, making it open-source and capable of analyzing additional data points like interests and political views.
Written by urgent.news from Straits Times's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
