Over 200 economists and AI experts warn AI could disrupt jobs faster than the Industrial Revolution

Artificial intelligence is no longer just a technology story. According to a broad coalition of economists, AI researchers and industry leaders, it is rapidly becoming an economic challenge that governments cannot afford to postpone.

In a joint statement released on Monday, more than 200 signatories—including researchers from OpenAI, Anthropic and Google, as well as 15 Nobel Prize winners—called for urgent action to prepare economies for the sweeping changes AI is expected to bring. Their appeal argues that policymakers should begin building the institutions and regulatory frameworks needed to manage the transition before the technology transforms labour markets on a large scale.

Experts warn the window to prepare is shrinking

The statement argues that AI has the potential to trigger an economic shift comparable to the Industrial Revolution, but on a dramatically compressed timeline. Unlike previous technological breakthroughs, which unfolded over decades and gave societies time to adapt, the AI era may evolve quickly enough to leave governments, businesses and workers struggling to keep pace.

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Among those leading the initiative is Anton Korinek, professor at the University of Virginia, who joined Anthropic's economic research team earlier this year. He organised the effort alongside economists Erik Brynjolfsson, Ajay Agrawal and Tom Cunningham.

"Steam, electricity, and computers each gave societies decades to adapt. AI may give us only a few years," Korinek said.

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

The group argues that governments should not wait until the economic effects become fully visible before responding. Instead, they are calling for greater investment in research to better understand AI's long-term impact on productivity, employment and income distribution, while simultaneously designing policies that can cushion potential disruption.

Broad support from academia and the AI industry

The list of signatories spans both academia and the companies building the technology. It includes OpenAI Chief Financial Officer Sarah Friar, Google DeepMind Chief Scientist Jeff Dean, Anthropic co-founder Jack Clark and members of Anthropic's economics research team.

The statement has also been endorsed by several leading economists, including Nobel laureates Michael Spence, Daron Acemoglu and Simon Johnson, underscoring the growing consensus that AI's economic implications deserve far greater policy attention.

While the statement does not prescribe specific regulations, it emphasises the need to begin developing institutions capable of responding to large-scale economic change. One of its central concerns is that AI-driven automation could significantly reshape employment, creating winners and losers unless governments are prepared with appropriate safeguards.

The intervention comes as businesses increasingly deploy advanced AI systems across software development, customer service, research and office work, fuelling debate over how quickly the technology could alter labour markets.

For the experts behind the initiative, the message is straightforward: preparing for AI's economic consequences should begin now, not after disruption has already taken hold.