SynopsisTop economists and scientists have issued an open letter urging immediate action. They warn artificial intelligence could transform economies and displace many workers. This transformation may be larger than the Industrial Revolution, occurring much faster. Leaders must establish incentives and guardrails to guide AI development. Collective, democratic choices are needed to ensure AI benefits all citizens.Hundreds of economists say in an open letter that institutions "must act now" to address how artificial intelligence could transform the economy and could put many people out of work.The statement released Monday was signed by top economists, along with computer scientists and some executives at tech companies including Anthropic, Google and OpenAI."AI may become radically more powerful over the next 10 years," says the letter organized by Stanford University's digital economy lab. "This could drive an unprecedented transformation of our economy, 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 letter, which has only four sentences, says leaders must "build the incentives, guardrails, and institutions needed to steer AI in a direction that complements humans and benefits society."The Stanford lab says the letter has so far been signed by more than 200 economists and AI researchers, including 16 winners of a Nobel Prize.Computer scientist and AI pioneer Yoshua Bengio was among the signatories and said in a separate statement that based on the trajectory of AI development, "it is highly plausible that AI will drastically transform our economies.""We must be intentional and make collective, democratic choices, rather than letting market forces play out and risking leaving most citizens behind," wrote Bengio, a professor at the University of Montreal. ...moreElevate your knowledge and leadership skills at a cost cheaper than your daily tea.Subscribe Now