Over 200 Economists and Researchers Warn AI Transformation Will Happen in "Years, Not Decades"

More than 200 researchers and economists, including 15 Nobel laureates and scientists at OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google, have issued a joint statement warning that AI could drive a larger economic transformation than the Industrial Revolution — but on a "vastly shorter" timeframe.

The statement calls for governments and tech leaders to urgently create policies and institutions to address AI's economic impact, including risks of large-scale job displacement.

"Steam, electricity, and computers each gave societies decades to adapt. AI may give us only a few years." – Professor Anton Korinek, University of Virginia

Unlike previous technological revolutions that unfolded over generations, AI's capabilities are advancing at an exponential pace, compressing what was once a multi-decade transition into a matter of years.

The statement emphasizes that the magnitude of AI-driven economic change could exceed that of the Industrial Revolution, which fundamentally restructured labor markets, productivity, and living standards across the globe.

The signatories represent a broad cross-section of economic and technical expertise. Among the prominent signatories are OpenAI CFO Sarah Friar, Google DeepMind Chief Scientist Jeff Dean, Anthropic co-founder Jack Clark, and the 15 Nobel laureates in economics.

The signatories call for the creation of "new economic institutions" similar to how the Industrial Revolution led to the creation of the welfare state, labor laws, and the modern university system.

The initiative is led by Professor Anton Korinek of the University of Virginia, who has warned that "if we wait until AI has fully transformed the economy, it will be too late to shape the outcome."