I am a DPhil candidate in Political Economy at the University of Oxford, where my research examines how AI-driven technological shocks influence labor markets, worker retraining, and public attitudes toward economic policy. Prior to Oxford, I earned an MSc in Political Science and Political Economy as a Fulbright Scholar at the LSE and a BA in PPE from Brown University.
Alongside my doctorate, I am a Research Scientist and Economist at Google DeepMind, focusing on the economics of AI, inequality, and the societal impacts of advanced AI systems. My professional background includes roles at the personal office of Barack and Michelle Obama, the Brookings Institution, and the Centre for the Governance of AI. My work and commentary have been featured in the Financial Times, The New York Times, Bloomberg, Politico, Vox, and Jacobin.
Publications
Publications
- Tomasev, N., Franklin, M., Leibo, J.Z., Jacobs, J., Cunningham, W.A., & Gabriel, I., et al. (2025) "Virtual agent economies," arXiv preprint arXiv:2509.10147.
- Jacobs, J. (2025) "AI Labor Displacement and the Limits of Worker Retraining," The Brookings Institution
- Adan, S.N., Trager, R., Blomquist, K., Dennis, C., Edom, G., Velasco, L., et al. (2024) "Voice and access in AI: Global AI majority participation in artificial intelligence development and governance," University of Oxford.
- Jacobs, J. (2024) "The Artificial Intelligence Shock and Socio-Political Polarization," Technological Forecasting & Social Change, 199, 123006.
- Jacobs, J. & Muro, M. (2024) "New data shows that without intervention, generative AI jobs will continue to cluster in the same big tech hubs," The Brookings Institution.
- Muro, M. & Jacobs, J. (2024) "Promoting Geographic and Social Diffusion of AI Development," The Brookings Institution.
- Tasin, F., Jacobs, J., & Mannan, A.J. (2024) "Automation, Economic Insecurity, and the Rise of the Far Right," The Brookings Institution.
- Muro, M., Jacobs, J., & Liu, S. (2023) "Building AI cities: How to spread the benefits of an emerging technology across more of America," The Brookings Institution.
- Jacobs, J. (2023) "An unequal embrace of digitalization may contribute to recession risk," The Brookings Institution.
- Jacobs, J. (2022) "Automation, Economic Anxiety, and Political Radicalization in America," The Brookings Institution.
- Jacobs, J. (2021) "A Portrait of the Automation Susceptible Individual: Skills-Biased Technological Change and the American Conscience," SSRN 3965751.
- Jacobs, J. (2021) "Automation and the radicalization of America," The Brookings Institution (TechTank).