Keyword Search Strings — arXiv & EBSCO
Ready-to-paste boolean strings for the five thematic areas in 01_source-list. Each area has: a concept-block table, two strings (narrow + broad), and database-specific notes for arXiv and EBSCO Business Source Complete.
How to use
Run String B (broad) first. If results > 300, switch to String A (narrow). If results < 20, expand OR blocks or remove one AND condition. Log every run in
04_search-log.md(to be created after first pilot).
Syntax reminder
- arXiv: field codes
ti:(title),abs:(abstract),AND / OR / ANDNOT. Wrap phrases in double quotes. No truncation wildcard — spell out variants.- EBSCO: field codes
TI(title),AB(abstract),SU(subject heading). Truncation with*. Wrap phrases in double quotes. Combine withAND / OR / NOT.
Area 1 — Vision & AI Trajectory
Target: understand how the AI stack is conceptualized and what the long-run trajectory claims are.
Concept Blocks
| Block | Core Terms | Synonyms / Alternatives |
|---|---|---|
| AI system framing | artificial general intelligence, large language model, foundation model | LLM, AGI, AI stack, AI architecture |
| Trajectory / capability | AI capabilities, AI progress, AI scaling, emergent behavior | scaling laws, capability frontier, intelligence explosion |
| Economic / social implication | AI transformation, AI disruption, future of software | software 3.0, AI-driven economy, technology transition |
String A — Narrow (high precision)
arXiv:
ti:("foundation model" OR "large language model") AND abs:("AI stack" OR "AI architecture" OR "software transformation") AND abs:("economic impact" OR "technology transition")
EBSCO:
TI("foundation model" OR "large language model") AND AB("AI stack" OR "AI capabilities" OR "software disruption") AND AB("economic impact" OR "technology transition" OR "digital transformation")
String B — Broad (high recall)
arXiv:
abs:("large language model" OR "foundation model" OR "AGI" OR "artificial general intelligence") AND abs:("AI trajectory" OR "AI capabilities" OR "scaling" OR "AI transformation")
EBSCO:
AB("large language model" OR "foundation model" OR "artificial general intelligence") AND AB("AI capabilities" OR "technology transition" OR "AI transformation" OR "future of AI")
Database Notes
- arXiv sections:
cs.AI,cs.LG,cs.CL— most relevant; checkecon.GNfor socioeconomic framing papers - EBSCO subject filters: add Subject Heading
Artificial intelligence — Economic aspectsorTechnology and civilization - Date range: 2022–2025 preferred; pre-2022 useful for historical analogy framing only
Area 2 — Economics, Strategy & Value Distribution
Target: peer-reviewed work on AI industry structure, margin distribution, platform economics, and the U-curve / commoditization dynamic.
Concept Blocks
| Block | Core Terms | Synonyms / Alternatives |
|---|---|---|
| Value / margin | value distribution, economic surplus, profit margin, rent capture | value capture, economic rent, margin compression |
| AI industry structure | AI platform, AI market structure, AI industry, AI ecosystem | AI supply chain, AI stack economics, AI vertical integration |
| Platform / aggregation | platform economics, aggregation theory, network effects, market concentration | two-sided market, digital platform, winner-take-all |
| Commoditization | commoditization, price competition, open-source disruption | margin erosion, competitive pressure, undifferentiated |
String A — Narrow
arXiv:
ti:("AI platform" OR "AI market" OR "AI industry") AND abs:("value distribution" OR "profit margin" OR "market concentration" OR "platform economics")
EBSCO:
TI("artificial intelligence" OR "AI platform" OR "AI ecosystem") AND AB("value distribution" OR "economic surplus" OR "market concentration" OR "platform economics") AND AB("commoditization" OR "margin" OR "competitive advantage")
String B — Broad
arXiv:
abs:("AI market" OR "AI platform" OR "AI industry structure") AND abs:("value capture" OR "economic rent" OR "margin" OR "commoditization" OR "network effect")
EBSCO:
AB("artificial intelligence" OR "machine learning" OR "generative AI") AND AB("platform economics" OR "value capture" OR "market structure" OR "competitive advantage" OR "commoditization") AND AB("industry" OR "firm" OR "market")
Database Notes
- arXiv sections:
econ.GN,cs.GT(game theory),econ.IO(industrial organization) — IO papers most relevant for market structure - EBSCO subject filters: Business Source Complete — filter by Business / Economics journals; add
Strategic Management Journal,Management Science,Information Systems Researchto journal list - Extra string for platform economics specifically (EBSCO):
AB("platform" OR "two-sided market" OR "aggregation") AND AB("artificial intelligence" OR "digital economy") AND AB("value" OR "margin" OR "rent")
Area 3 — Technical Frontier: Agents, Models & Open Source
Target: empirical and technical work on AI agents, orchestration layers, open-weight model economics, and edge/on-device AI.
Concept Blocks
| Block | Core Terms | Synonyms / Alternatives |
|---|---|---|
| Agents | AI agent, autonomous agent, coding agent, AI assistant | agentic AI, multi-agent system, LLM agent |
| Orchestration | AI orchestration, agent framework, workflow automation | task planning, tool use, chain-of-thought, ReAct |
| Open source / open weight | open-source LLM, open-weight model, model democratization | Llama, Mistral, open model, model commoditization |
| Edge / deployment | edge AI, on-device AI, model compression, inference efficiency | federated learning, local inference, small language model, SLM |
String A — Narrow
arXiv:
ti:("AI agent" OR "autonomous agent" OR "LLM agent") AND abs:("orchestration" OR "tool use" OR "workflow") AND abs:("open-source" OR "open-weight" OR "deployment")
EBSCO:
TI("AI agent" OR "autonomous agent" OR "intelligent agent") AND AB("orchestration" OR "workflow automation" OR "task planning") AND AB("open-source" OR "model deployment" OR "edge computing")
String B — Broad
arXiv:
abs:("AI agent" OR "agentic AI" OR "multi-agent" OR "LLM agent") AND abs:("open-source" OR "open-weight" OR "orchestration" OR "edge AI" OR "on-device")
EBSCO:
AB("AI agent" OR "autonomous agent" OR "intelligent agent" OR "agentic") AND AB("open-source" OR "open-weight" OR "edge computing" OR "model deployment" OR "small language model")
Database Notes
- arXiv sections:
cs.AI,cs.MA(multi-agent systems),cs.CL— run all three;cs.NI(networks) for edge - EBSCO coverage note: arXiv is the primary source here — most cutting-edge agent work is preprint-first. EBSCO/conference proceedings (AAAI, NeurIPS, ICML) are the peer-reviewed complement
- Additional arXiv string for open-weight economics:
abs:("open-source model" OR "open-weight" OR "model democratization") AND abs:("economic" OR "cost" OR "commoditization" OR "competition")
Area 4 — Skeptics & Bear Case
Target: empirical work on AI productivity effects, ROI evidence, labor displacement, and structural critiques of AI transformation claims.
Concept Blocks
| Block | Core Terms | Synonyms / Alternatives |
|---|---|---|
| Productivity / ROI | AI productivity, AI return on investment, AI adoption, AI value | AI business value, AI implementation, technology ROI |
| Labor / employment | labor displacement, automation and employment, AI and jobs | task automation, worker substitution, skill-biased technology change |
| Critique / limitations | AI limitations, AI failure, AI overhype, AI risks | AI hype, AI disappointment, AI capability gap |
| Macroeconomic | AI and GDP, AI and growth, AI and inequality | technology and productivity, innovation and growth, digital divide |
String A — Narrow
arXiv:
ti:("AI productivity" OR "AI return on investment" OR "AI adoption") AND abs:("empirical" OR "evidence" OR "measurement") AND abs:("limitation" OR "failure" OR "gap" OR "inequality")
EBSCO:
TI("artificial intelligence" OR "automation") AND AB("productivity" OR "return on investment" OR "economic impact") AND AB("empirical" OR "evidence" OR "labor" OR "employment" OR "inequality")
String B — Broad
arXiv:
abs:("AI productivity" OR "AI adoption" OR "AI impact") AND abs:("labor" OR "employment" OR "GDP" OR "economic growth" OR "return on investment" OR "ROI")
EBSCO:
AB("artificial intelligence" OR "automation" OR "machine learning") AND AB("productivity" OR "labor market" OR "employment" OR "GDP" OR "economic growth" OR "skill") AND AB("empirical" OR "evidence" OR "study" OR "analysis")
Database Notes
- EBSCO: Business Source Complete + EconLit combination recommended; EconLit is strongest for labor economics papers (Acemoglu-type work)
- arXiv sections:
econ.GN,econ.LB(labour economics) — addcs.CY(computers and society) for critique pieces - Suggested journal filter for EBSCO:
Quarterly Journal of Economics,American Economic Review,Journal of Economic Perspectives,Management Science
Area 5 — Geopolitics & Governance
Target: work on AI policy, US-China AI competition, EU regulation, and the geopolitics of AI infrastructure and sovereignty.
Concept Blocks
| Block | Core Terms | Synonyms / Alternatives |
|---|---|---|
| Geopolitics / competition | AI geopolitics, US China AI, AI competition, technology race | AI arms race, semiconductor rivalry, AI nationalism |
| Regulation / governance | AI governance, AI regulation, AI policy, AI Act | AI ethics regulation, algorithmic accountability, AI safety law |
| Sovereignty / blocs | AI sovereignty, digital sovereignty, AI fragmentation | technological sovereignty, AI blocs, AI de-coupling |
| Infrastructure | AI infrastructure, semiconductor supply chain, AI compute | chip supply chain, GPU export controls, data center geopolitics |
String A — Narrow
arXiv:
ti:("AI governance" OR "AI regulation" OR "AI policy") AND abs:("geopolitics" OR "US China" OR "sovereignty" OR "European Union") AND abs:("competition" OR "fragmentation" OR "regulatory")
EBSCO:
TI("artificial intelligence" AND ("governance" OR "regulation" OR "policy")) AND AB("geopolitics" OR "US China" OR "digital sovereignty" OR "European Union") AND AB("competition" OR "market" OR "regulation")
String B — Broad
arXiv:
abs:("AI governance" OR "AI regulation" OR "AI policy" OR "AI geopolitics") AND abs:("China" OR "European Union" OR "sovereignty" OR "semiconductor" OR "export control")
EBSCO:
AB("artificial intelligence" OR "AI") AND AB("governance" OR "regulation" OR "policy" OR "geopolitics") AND AB("China" OR "United States" OR "European Union" OR "sovereignty" OR "competition")
Database Notes
- EBSCO: add Political Science database or PAIS Index for policy/governance papers
- arXiv sections:
cs.CY(computers and society) is the primary section for AI governance preprints; also checkecon.GN - Complementary databases: SSRN is strong for AI policy working papers (especially law + economics intersection); worth a separate search run
- Suggested journals (EBSCO):
Regulation & Governance,Global Policy,Telecommunications Policy,Journal of Information Technology & Politics
Calibration Thresholds
| Result count | Action |
|---|---|
| > 300 results | Switch from String B to String A; restrict to TI / ti: fields only; add date filter |
| 50–300 results | Proceed to title/abstract screening |
| 20–50 results | Acceptable but check if a block is too restrictive; consider expanding one OR list |
| < 20 results | Switch to String B; widen date range; remove one AND block |
Related
- 01_source-list — source map these strings are built from
- 02_deep-research-prompts — agent prompts for grey literature and podcast/interview sources