The AI Agent Economy
FRANCISCO JAVIER CAMPOS ZABALA · 2025
This chapter explores the economic and ethical implications of AI agents, software that is increasingly facilitating economic activity. The economic potential of AI agents lies in their ability to optimize resource allocation, reduce friction in various economic processes, and drive productivity through collaborative and specialized intelligence. Across industries, AI agents disrupt traditional value chains, create new business models, and redefine economic interactions, leading to disintermediation, value chain compression, and new value creation opportunities. The labor market undergoes a three-wave transformation—task automation, role transformation, and economic restructuring—with potential for job displacement, the emergence of new roles, and increased demand for skills in AI development, management, and ethical oversight. Ethical considerations include bias in AI algorithms, privacy, data security, accountability, market manipulation, and anticompetitive practices. Proposed solutions include equitable access to AI technologies for small businesses and developing nations, as well as proactive, adaptive regulatory frameworks for responsible AI innovation. The AI Agent Economy's broader societal implications include transformative changes in wealth distribution, economic accessibility, market efficiency, and complexity.