Stanford pushes a manifesto to prepare for AI’s economic impact

The Stanford Digital Economy Lab has announced the manifesto We Must Act Now: A Statement on AI's Transformation of the Economy, a document signed by 16 Nobel laureates together with more than 200 economists and researchers specializing in artificial intelligence. The text calls for preparation ahead of the economic impact that increasingly capable AI systems could have. The manifesto was organized by economists Erik Brynjolfsson, Ajay Agrawal, Anton Korinek and Tom Cunningham.

Its authors warn that artificial intelligence could transform the economy on a scale larger than the Industrial Revolution, and over a considerably shorter period. At the same time, they note that this shift offers opportunities to boost productivity and raise living standards, while also raising questions for workers, companies and public institutions.

Among the document's main proposals is the need to expand research into AI's economic effects and to start building the policies and institutions needed to steer this transformation. The manifesto argues these measures should help artificial intelligence complement human capabilities and generate benefits for society.

The release also includes statements from several of its backers, who agree on the need to act ahead of the speed at which AI capabilities are advancing and the uncertainty over their economic effects. They also call for collaboration between economists, policymakers and technology leaders to prepare for the transition and adapt institutions to this new scenario.

According to the Stanford Digital Economy Lab, the manifesto is already backed by more than 200 signatories from universities and research organizations around the world.

Key points

• We Must Act Now manifesto, from the Stanford Digital Economy Lab
• Signed by 16 Nobel laureates and more than 200 economists and AI researchers
• Organized by Brynjolfsson, Agrawal, Korinek and Cunningham
• Warns of an economic transformation faster than the Industrial Revolution
• Acknowledges opportunities for productivity and living standards
• Raises questions for workers, companies and institutions
• Calls for more research into AI's economic effects
• Demands new policies and institutions to guide the transition
• Aims for AI to complement human capabilities
• Calls on economists, policymakers and tech leaders to collaborate