Christophe Chamley e-mail
Chatbots and universities
Pharaoh Thamus to the god Thoth, having received the invention of hieroglyphs (Plato): "This invention will produce forgetfulness in the souls of those who learn it, because they will not practice their memory. They will trust to the external written characters and not remember of themselves. The specific you have discovered is an aid not to memory, but to reminiscence, and you give your disciples not truth, but only the semblance of truth; they will be hearers of many things and will have learned nothing; they will appear to be omniscient and will generally know nothing.”
"Si vogliamo che tutto remanga com'è, bisogna che tutto cambi.".
Keynes on the Gold Standard (before the teleprompter)
Ec 565 (Fall 2025)
Tuesday/Thursday, 6:30pm, room 413 (department of economics).
The central purpose in this course is to provide a historical perspective on economic issues that are important for the present and the future. The list includes public debt, inequality, regime change, role of the state, climate, financial crises, introduction and role of money, trade, tariffs, mercantilism, the impact of geography.
ChatGPT or other search tools are allowed for the home assignments, but such use should be mentioned. (Of course, there is no penalty for this use). I think that these tools are very useful, and you will be able to appreciate the value added of the course with respect to these instruments. In any case, taking the course is not an exercise to figure tricks to get a grade. It is your moral duty to yourself to enrich yourself intellectually.
A password is required for access to the course website.