AI Demands Technology Economists Who Measure Business Value Created, Not Just IT Spending
CIO, Monday, August 31st, 2026
Why We Need Technology Economists
The rise of AI requires organizations to shift from traditional IT finance to technology economics, which evaluates how investments create economic value rather than merely tracking expenses.
AI introduces non-linear economics where a $10 million investment might generate $100 million in value or none at all, while simultaneously creating technology inflation in some areas and deflation in others.
Technology economists focus on measuring economic outcomes like revenue generation and productivity gains rather than traditional metrics like uptime percentages. The organizations that outperform will be those that best understand how AI, data, infrastructure, and labor combine to create measurable business value.