Systemic Digitalization of Economic Mechanisms: The Impact of Information Technologies and Artificial Intelligence

Most existing studies of generative artificial intelligence (AI) and information technologies (IT) impact on the economy, focused on the automation of work processes with implications for employment, wages, and productivity. This article broadens the analytical perspective by examining how IT/AI influence the economy through the transformation of economic mechanisms—regulatory structures that ensure coordination and management of joint activities. Drawing on the Institutional Analysis and Development framework, the paper proposes a methodology for describing the universal functions of economic mechanisms and their associated information processes. The information processes are conceptualized as the targets of digitalization, aimed at reducing transaction costs, enhancing productivity, and improving the adaptability of the economy to external changes. The study presents an approach for selecting IT/AI solutions capable of increasing the efficiency of economic mechanisms and introduces the concept of systemic digitalization as a tool for sustainable economic growth. Finally, the paper outlines a “social order” directed at the IT/AI industry—a set of solutions whose implementation may yield substantial positive macroeconomic effects.