AI is changing economies and societies – from the way we work and learn to how economies grow and societies evolve. At EARL, we study the real-world impact of AI on jobs, businesses, sustainability, innovation, inequality, and even the future of education and healthcare.
We bring together diverse methodologies to understand how AI is reshaping industries, financial markets, and entire economies. Our goal is to provide research insights that help businesses, policymakers, and society navigate this technological revolution, especially with a view to AI safety, responsibility, and ethics, to ensure a beneficial future for humankind.
EARL explores AI’s role in accelerating knowledge creation and economic growth. We investigate AI’s power to create both opportunities and challenges – driving progress, but also requiring new strategies to ensure that growth is inclusive, ethical, and sustainable.
We actively collaborate with businesses, researchers, and policymakers to shape the future of AI-driven economies. If you're interested in working with us or pursuing research in this space, reach out to Dr Chris Callaghan (EARL Director) at [email protected]
Our overarching aim is to work together to make AI a force for good – driving growth, innovation, and inclusivity.
Our team comprises leading researchers in ARU's Faculty of Business and Law, including Prof Nick Drydakis (Director of the Centre for Inclusive Societies and Economies (CISE)), and Prof Emanuele Giovannetti, both renowned for producing world-leading research and impact, as also evidenced by the 2021 Research Excellence Framework outcomes, and their world-leading impact case studies.
Dr Anna Paraskevopoulou, Dr Ying Wang, Dr Aderinkola Alabi ([email protected]), and Dr Chris Callaghan (EARL Director) round out the membership.
Although biographical and other information is available on members' profile pages, some additional information is included below.
Prof Drydakis’ research and expertise in artificial intelligence (AI), digital transformation, and labour markets have influenced business practices, policy discussions, and higher education curricula. His work provides evidence-based insights into how AI adoption affects employment prospects, business resilience, and economic participation, particularly for small enterprises and marginalised groups.
His contributions have informed policy discussions on the digital and green transitions, particularly in relation to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). By highlighting the opportunities and risks associated with AI-driven business applications, his work has shaped industry conversations on workforce adaptation, entrepreneurship, and digital skills development. Engagements in international policy forums and business networks have facilitated knowledge transfer to policymakers and practitioners, influencing strategies for AI-driven economic growth.
His research on AI capital and employment has demonstrated that graduates with AI-related skills receive higher interview call-back rates and access to better-paying jobs, particularly in large firms. This has impacted higher education, prompting a greater emphasis on AI skills in business and economics curricula. His work has been recognised in education policy initiatives, guiding institutions in equipping students for AI-integrated workplaces.
Prof Drydakis’ engagement with digital health technologies has contributed to a deeper understanding of AI’s role in social inclusion. His studies on AI-enhanced mobile applications for immigrants and LGBT communities have shaped discussions on digital accessibility and mental well-being, influencing the development of inclusive digital solutions.
Through consultancy, policy engagement, and academic contributions, Prof Drydakis’ research has influenced labour market policies, business strategies, and digital education, fostering a more informed approach to AI’s economic and societal impact. His work continues to support businesses, policymakers, and educators in navigating the evolving AI landscape.
Prof Drydakis is currently engaged in research and consultancy projects exploring the economic and social impacts of artificial intelligence (AI), digital transformation, and labour market dynamics. His work continues to assess how AI adoption affects employment prospects, business resilience, digital inclusion, and workforce development, with a particular focus on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and marginalised communities.
One of his ongoing projects investigates the relationship between AI capital and job market outcomes, analysing how AI skills influence employability, wage differentials, and recruitment preferences, particularly in large firms. Another key area of research focuses on AI-driven business applications and digital entrepreneurship, exploring how AI training enhances operational efficiency and innovation for SMEs.
His work also extends to AI’s role in reducing economic disparities, particularly examining how digital transformation can help bridge the gender digital divide among immigrant entrepreneurs. Additionally, he continues to explore AI-powered digital health technologies, assessing their impact on mental well-being, societal integration, and economic participation for vulnerable populations.
Through these projects, Prof Drydakis contributes to policy development, business strategy, and academic research, offering insights into the transformative role of AI in shaping economic and social structures.
Challenging the Norms: The Intersection of Gender, Class and AI Bias, Women with AI, 18 December 2024
Organisational Psychology in Social Context – discussions on automation and impact on employment.
One postgraduate research student (PGR) studying for a PhD in AI and leadership. The PGR is an entrepreneur.
Conference: Invited keynote speaker: New Trends and Challenges in Management – Management of Global Business Processes, University of Debrecen (Hungary), 27-28 March 2025.
Cambridge AI Summit, ARU, 18 June 2024.
Dr Wang is an experienced academic and industry expert whose research has been published in high-impact international peer-reviewed journals including the Journal of Corporate Finance, and has contributed to industry reports from funded projects. Her extensive research expertise spans a diverse range of fields, with a particular focus on artificial intelligence, Fintech, sustainable finance, ESG, financial economics, entrepreneurial finance, accounting and finance, and leadership.
Dr Wang’s work in AI and Fintech is particularly noteworthy, as she employs advanced modelling techniques to address complex challenges in finance, accounting, investment and business. Particularly, Dr Wang’s research methodology is highly interdisciplinary, incorporating advanced econometrics modelling, AI-driven data analysis, questionnaires and interviews.
Before transitioning to academia, Dr Wang accumulated extensive industry experience, holding key roles such as project manager at one of the top-tier automobile companies and financial institutions in both the UK and China. This unique blend of academic rigour and practical industry insight has enabled her to secure research grants from prestigious research councils and industry-funded initiatives and equip her students with subject expertise and transferrable skills, particularly her doctorate students. Dr Wang has been recognised as a UKCGE Recognised Research Supervisor.
In addition, Dr Wang is deeply committed to knowledge dissemination and professional development. She designs and delivers workshops for CEOs and professionals and plays a pivotal role in fostering collaboration and innovation within the business community as the chair for the Institute for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (ISBE), where she leads the development of ISBE Special Interest Group on SMEs and Growth.
Throughout his academic career, Dr Callaghan has explored the relationship between knowledge, innovation, and real-world outcomes. While his early publications did not yet explicitly focus on AI, they laid the groundwork for understanding how AI interacts with knowledge systems, economic structures, and innovation ecosystems.
His work on knowledge production, technological change, research productivity, and economic transformation provides a foundation for contemporary AI research, particularly in the areas of automation, digital economies, and AI-driven scientific discovery.
Dr Callaghan's research has consistently examined the role of knowledge and innovation in economic and organisational contexts. Publications such as 'Growth Contributions of Technological Change: Is There a Burden of Knowledge Effect?' (2021, Technological Forecasting and Social Change) and 'The Global Productivity Growth and Research Productivity Declines: The (Urgent) Need for a ‘Fifth Industrial Revolution’ Imperative' (2021, International Journal of Business Innovation and Research) have analysed the systemic factors shaping research and technological progress. These contributions anticipate contemporary debates on AI’s potential to accelerate scientific discovery and productivity while navigating the burden of knowledge constraints.
Dr Callaghan's work on national innovation systems, such as 'National Innovation Systems Effects of Political Ideology' (2021, Irish Academy of Management Conference) and 'Revisiting Nelson’s Moon and the Ghetto Conversation: The Wicked Problem of Research Failure in the Wake of the COVID-19 Pandemic' (2021, British Academy of Management Conference), aligns with AI research by addressing systemic barriers to innovation diffusion and technological adoption – key considerations in AI governance and policy.
The increasing role of AI in scientific research, economic productivity, and automation resonates with Dr Callaghan's investigations into research productivity and innovation. His work on 'Revisiting How Scientific Research Drives Technological Change: The Fifth Industrial Revolution' (2023, South African Journal of Science) discusses shifts in technological paradigms and provides an early conceptualisation of AI as a transformative force.
Additionally, his research on 'Solving Existential Threats as Wicked Problems: Insights from a (Research) Productivity-Defined ‘Fifth Industrial Revolution’' (2023, British Academy of Management Conference) offers insights into AI’s potential to address grand challenges. AI, as a tool for global problem-solving, aligns with his inquiries into innovation systems, knowledge diffusion, and the role of technology in shaping economic structures.
Recent publications more directly engage with AI’s impact on labour markets, economic transformation, and productivity. Dr Callaghan's paper, 'Will AI and Technology Disrupt Our Jobs? Insights for Transformation for the Greater Good from Experiential Matrix Theory' (2024, British Academy of Management Conference), situates AI within broader economic and social transformations, using his Experiential Matrix Theory to examine how AI can align with human needs rather than merely displace labour.
His research on 'Challenges and Enablers of Achieving Meaningful Socio-Organisational Transformation for Greater Good: A Reimagination of Romer’s and Solow’s Epistemological and Methodological Perspective' (2024, British Academy of Management Conference) extends this discussion by analysing AI’s role in reshaping innovation paradigms and economic structures.
The intersection of AI and sustainability is another domain where Dr Callaghan's work is increasingly relevant. His collaborative study, 'Environmental Sustainability and Management Theory Development: Post-Paradigm Insights from the Anthropocene' (2024, European Management Review), anticipates the role of AI in addressing sustainability challenges. Similarly, his research on human capital, such as 'Growth Effects of Human Capital and Innovation in Small and Medium-Sized Firms' (2024, GBATA Conference), informs debates on AI’s impact on skill development, entrepreneurship, and labour market adaptation.
Dr Callaghan's research trajectory demonstrates a long-standing commitment to understanding how knowledge systems evolve and contribute to economic and societal transformation. While AI was not the explicit focus of many of his earlier works, the themes of innovation, research productivity, economic structures, and technological transformation have remained central.
Today, as AI reshapes scientific discovery, economic systems, and labour markets, his work offers valuable insights into how AI-driven transformations can align with human and societal needs. By integrating AI into his ongoing research on Experiential Matrix Theory and knowledge ecosystems, he continues to contribute to advancing AI ethics, governance, and economic impact studies.