A group of economists and AI researchers, including sixteen Nobel Laureates, released a statement titled “We Must Act Now: A Statement on AI’s Transformation of the Economy,” urging immediate preparation for the economic consequences of increasingly powerful AI systems. Organized by economists Erik Brynjolfsson, Ajay Agrawal, Anton Korinek and Tom Cunningham, the statement warns that rapidly advancing AI could reshape the economy faster than institutions and policymakers are prepared to manage, raising significant questions for workers, businesses and public systems.
Brynjolfsson, a professor at Stanford University, said AI’s capabilities are outpacing understanding of its economic implications and called for guiding AI to complement human work rather than simply replace it. Nobel laureates Michael Spence and Daron Acemoglu echoed the need for coordinated action given the scale and uncertainty of AI’s potential effects. Korinek, currently on leave at Anthropic, compared AI’s pace of change to past technological shifts such as steam and electricity, noting that society may have far less time to adapt. Agrawal and Cunningham similarly emphasized the need to update economic institutions proactively rather than react after major disruption occurs.
The statement has been signed by more than 200 economists and AI researchers from universities and research organizations worldwide, with the full text and signatory list available online.
