2027 Conference: Will AI Kill Markets (and Democracy)?
April 15-16, 2027
- January 01, 0001
About the Conference
The Stigler Center's annual conference series has been at the forefront of shifting the debate on antitrust and economic concentration in the United States and beyond for years, with an unwavering commitment to providing a platform for voices from across the political and economic spectrum. The conference draws high-profile speakers such as Nobel Prize winners and FTC and DOJ leadership and receives regular coverage from major outlets including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Bloomberg, and more.
This conference is by invitation only and is on the record, streamed, and recorded.
The best argument in favor of both markets and democracies is that each system can aggregate the knowledge and preferences of millions of people more effectively than any centralized planner. But that argument traditionally assumed that the planner would be human. What if AI systems were the planners, and what if those AIs were owned by only a handful of companies?
Call for Papers
Submissions are now being accepted on topics that explore the relationship between AI, markets, and democracy. Topics for the conference will include but are not limited to:
- Bottlenecks and chokepoints in the AI Stack
- AI lobbying and regulatory capture
- Populist backlash to data centers
- Automation in the public sector
- The global AI race & industrial policy
- Human capital and bargaining power under automation
Submissions can be in the form of (i) full working papers or (ii) extended abstracts or short academic articles (up to 3,000 words).
The authors of the best submissions will be invited to present and discuss at the conference.
SUBMISSION DEADLINE: December 1, 2026, by 11:59pm CT Chicago time
Conference Organizers
- Luigi Zingales, Robert C. McCormack Distinguished Service Professor of Entrepreneurship and Finance, University of Chicago Booth School of Business
- Guy Rolnik, Clinical Professor of Strategic Management, University of Chicago Booth School of Business
- Filippo Lancieri, Associate Professor of Law, Georgetown University
Conference Venue:
Gleacher Center
450 Cityfront Plaza Dr, Chicago, IL 60611
For more information, contact:
Stigler Center