Top Economists Warn of AI-Driven Job Losses

AI may be minting new tools, but a heavyweight roster of economists says it's also about to erase a lot more jobs. In an open letter released Monday, more than 200 economists—including 16 Nobel Prize winners and the chief economists of OpenAI and Anthropic—warn that rapidly advancing AI could reshape the economy faster than the Industrial Revolution did, with sweeping labor displacement alongside potential gains in living standards. In the letter titled "We Must Act Now," the group urges tech companies and governments to move quickly on "incentives, guardrails, and institutions" that keep AI augmenting rather than replacing workers.

AI-related layoffs are mounting—tens of thousands so far, with nearly all surveyed executives expecting further staff cuts, and early policy experiments, like California's new AI-Unemployment Tracker, are beginning to roll out. Some economists point out that there have been new technologies in the past that created more jobs than they eliminated. Even that could have a downside, per the New York Times: Safety net programs such as the unemployment insurance system aren't ready to handle such a change.

• Business Insider has the text of the 88-word letter here.