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RESEARCH CENTER FOR INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT PROBLEMS of NAS of Ukraine (KHARKIV, UKRAINE)

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Liburkina L. M.

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Transformation of the Labor Theory of Value and the Conception of Factors of Production under the Influence of Artificial Intelligence
Kuranda M. V.

Kuranda, Maksym V. (2026) “Transformation of the Labor Theory of Value and the Conception of Factors of Production under the Influence of Artificial Intelligence.” Business Inform 9:50–64.
https://doi.org/10.32983/2222-4459-2026-9-50-64

Section: Economic Theory

Article is written in Ukrainian
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UDC 330.13:330.14:004.8

Abstract:
The article examines the transformation of the labor theory of value and the conception of factors of production under the influence of artificial intelligence (AI). The aim of the article is to study artificial intelligence from the perspectives of the labor theory of value and the conception of factors of production in order to identify the directions in which theoretical propositions are transformed under the influence of artificial intelligence, as well as to identify and systematize the main critical challenges associated with its implementation. The study is theoretical and conceptual in nature. The methodology is based on comparing the propositions of A. Smith, K. Marx, and J. B. Clark according to common criteria: the source of value, the role of labor and capital, the place of technology, and the possible status of AI. To analyze the functional substitution of labor, a model for determining the sufficiency of human and machine capabilities within a specific «plan – action – control» task is proposed. A functional-economic approach to defining «living» labor is proposed, according to which its uniqueness is associated with the historical sufficiency of cognitive abilities for performing the task of performing all levels of the task. It is demonstrated that AI partially eliminates this uniqueness and blurs the boundary between labor and capital. It is identified that AI can replace individual human labor functions; however, at present, it primarily changes the productivity and structure of human labor, while the complete functional replacement of a worker remains a limiting scenario. The ability of AI to perform individual levels of a task weakens the functional uniqueness of «labor» but does not grant AI the status of an economic actor, since at present it cannot fully functionally replace «labor» at all stages of the model due to technological imperfections. It is shown that the functional equivalence of a human and a machine within a task indicates the possibility of obtaining an equivalent useful result. It is proposed that AI be regarded as a hybrid factor of production – a convergence of the factors of labor and capital. The study substantiates the need to update certain propositions of the labor theory of value and the conception of factors of production in the context of AI implementation. The main economic, political, and social challenges associated with AI implementation are identified.

Keywords: artificial intelligence (AI); economic theory; factors of production; labor; capital; labor theory of value; «living» labor; automation.

Bibl.: 26.

Kuranda Maksym V. – Postgraduate Student, Institute of Industrial Economics of NAS of Ukraine (2 Mariia Kapnist Str., Kyiv, 03057, Ukraine)
Email: [email protected]

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