Hundreds of experts warn that the world must prepare now for the impact of AI | Business and Financial Issues

More than 200 economists and AI researchers have called on leaders to immediately prepare for a financial meltdown.

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

The brief, released Monday and prepared by Stanford University’s digital economy lab, has the signatures of more than 200 economists and AI researchers, including 16 Nobel laureates.

It warns that AI could grow exponentially in the next decade, making changes “bigger than the Industrial Revolution, but happening in a short period of time”.

“It could bring risks, including massive layoffs, and opportunities for a better life,” he said.

To combat this coming confusion, the letter calls for governments and industry to create “incentives, safeguards, and institutions” that ensure AI is socially compatible and beneficial to society.

Anton Korinek, a University of Virginia professor who initiated the project, emphasized that the window for action is narrowing.

“We cannot fix our methods and our institutions in the midst of change; waiting for a decision means arriving too late.”

The letter comes amid growing signs of AI at work. In October, Amazon announced that it was cutting about 14,000 jobs, months after its CEO revealed that AI and assistants would take on additional roles.

In the United States, recent college graduates they find themselves facing an ever-expanding labor market.

The concern extends to individual workers. In December, the United Nations he warned that AI can increase inequality between countries, with rich countries gaining faster, while poorer countries are at risk of being left behind.