Reimaging the Wealth of Nations: From Invisible Hand to Digital Hand – United Nations University

On 5 June 2026, UNU will host a conversation with Prof. Yilei Shao, Founding Dean of the Shanghai AI-Finance School at East China Normal University.
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On 5 June 2026, UNU will host “Reimagining the Wealth of Nations: From Invisible Hand to Digital Hand”, a conversation with Prof. Yilei Shao, Founding Dean of the Shanghai AI-Finance School (SAIFS) and SAIFS Research Center at East China Normal University (ECNU), and Director of the UNU Hub for AI-Finance at ECNU. The event will begin at 18:30 in the 2F Reception Hall at UNU Headquarters in Tokyo.
In classical economic systems, economic activity and prosperity were largely measured through tangible production, physical assets and concrete transactions. Today, however, intelligence is reshaping the foundations of the economy. As a result, the “invisible hand”, famously described by Adam Smith as a decentralized mechanism in which individual self-interest unintentionally advances the common good, is being replaced or supplemented by a “digital hand”.
To more accurately capture the characteristics of a silicon-based economy, where value is often intangible, Prof. Yilei Shao has proposed Intelligent Domestic Product (IDP) — a “Silicon Index”. While gross domestic product was designed to primarily measure a carbon-based, manufacturing-oriented economy, IDP accounts for computing power, data richness, algorithmic capabilities, intelligence infrastructure and the depth of human-AI collaboration.
In this conversation, Prof. Yilei Shao will join UNU Rector Prof. Tshilidzi Marwala for a discussion on how technologies are transforming concepts of capital, resources and economic activity in the era of AI. The discussion will also explore the need for new governance frameworks to address emerging risks and promote accountability, transparency and fairness.
This event is part of the UNU Conversation Series, which aims to foster audience participation. You are encouraged to engage with the speakers during the conversation and at the reception that will follow, where all event attendees are invited to enjoy hors d’oeuvres and drinks while exchanging ideas and making new contacts.
Please note that this event will be in English. Advance registration (by 4 June at 15:00) is required. Please click on the REGISTER button above to access the online registration page. Please be prepared to present identification at check-in.
Please note that food and photography are prohibited during events at UNU Headquarters, unless prior permission is granted by UNU.  
Professor Yilei Shao is the Founding Dean of Shanghai AI-Finance School (SAIFS) and SAIFS Research Center at East China Normal University (ECNU), and Director of UNU-ECNU Hub in AI-Finance at ECNU. She holds a PhD in Computer Science from Princeton University. From 2021 to 2023, she served as the Secretary General of the International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence (IJCAI) China Office. She also previously worked at Goldman Sachs Headquarters in New York. As a pioneering interdisciplinary scholar, she has not only focused on the application of AI in the financial sector but also has actively explored its innovative integration into education and arts, while deeply engaging with frontier issues such as AI governance and ethics. In 2025, she pioneered the concepts of “Silicon-based Economics” and “Intelligent Domestic Product”, aiming to explore both theoretically and quantitatively how intelligence transforms productivity and reshapes the global political and economic system. 
 
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