More than 200 economists and AI researchers call on leaders to immediately prepare for sweeping economic disruption.<\/p>\n
By Reuters and The Associated Press<\/p>\n
Published On 13 Jul 202613 Jul 2026<\/p>\n
Hundreds of experts have signed an open letter demanding that policymakers and technology leaders \u201cmust act now\u201d to prepare for the economic impact of artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n
The brief letter, released on Monday and organised by Stanford University\u2019s digital economy lab, carries the signature of more than 200 economists and AI researchers, including 16 Nobel laureates.<\/p>\n
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It cautions that AI may grow far more capable over the coming decade, driving a transformation \u201clarger than the Industrial Revolution, but unfolding over a vastly shorter time frame\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt could bring risks, including large-scale job displacement, as well as opportunities such as major gains in living standards,\u201d the statement added.<\/p>\n
To address this impending disruption, the letter calls for governments and industry to create \u201cincentives, guardrails, and institutions\u201d that ensure AI is complementary to humans and beneficial to society.<\/p>\n
Anton Korinek, a University of Virginia professor who organised the initiative, stressed that the window for action is narrowing.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe cannot improvise our strategy and institutions in the middle of the transformation; waiting for certainty means arriving too late.\u201d<\/p>\n
The letter comes amid mounting signs of AI\u2019s toll on employment. In October, Amazon announced it was cutting about 14,000 jobs, months after its chief executive revealed that generative AI and agents would be taking over some roles.<\/p>\n
In the United States, recent college graduates<\/a>\u00a0have found themselves facing an increasingly tight labour market.<\/p>\n