Hundreds of experts warn the world must prepare now for AI’s impact

Hundreds of experts have signed an open letter demanding that policymakers and technology leaders “must act now” to prepare for the economic impact of artificial intelligence.

The brief letter, released on Monday and organised by Stanford University’s digital economy lab, carries the signature of more than 200 economists and AI researchers, including 16 Nobel laureates.

It cautions that AI may grow far more capable over the coming decade, driving a transformation “larger than the Industrial Revolution, but unfolding over a vastly shorter time frame”.

“It could bring risks, including large-scale job displacement, as well as opportunities such as major gains in living standards,” the statement added.

To address this impending disruption, the letter calls for governments and industry to create “incentives, guardrails, and institutions” that ensure AI is complementary to humans and beneficial to society.

Anton Korinek, a University of Virginia professor who organised the initiative, stressed that the window for action is narrowing.

“We cannot improvise our strategy and institutions in the middle of the transformation; waiting for certainty means arriving too late.”

The letter comes amid mounting signs of AI’s 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.

In the United States, recent college graduates have found themselves facing an increasingly tight labour market.

The concern extends beyond individual workers. In December, the United Nations warned that AI could deepen inequality between nations, with wealthier economies reaping early gains, while poorer countries risk being left behind.