A senior White House economist has described a recent report on artificial intelligence risks, which triggered a sharp sell-off across multiple U.S. stock sectors on Monday, as "science fiction."
The report, released over the weekend by Citrini Research, envisions a world in 2028 where rapid advances in machine intelligence significantly boost productivity but also render a large portion of human labor obsolete. This scenario, according to the report, would lead to widespread unemployment, a collapse in consumer spending, and a sharp decline in indices such as the S&P 500.
Pierre Yared, Acting Chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, stated that the report's claim that high AI productivity would destroy jobs contradicts fundamental economic principles.
"The Citrini report is an interesting piece of science fiction, and I like science fiction too," Yared said in a brief interview after speaking at the National Association for Business Economics in Washington. "But I think if you read it carefully, think about it more, think seriously, you'll find it violates some basic equations of economics."
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has often stated that modern economic history shows that increased investment is inevitably followed by employment growth, and Yared believes artificial intelligence will yield the same outcome.
"Overall, this administration's stance on artificial intelligence is to actively embrace it," Yared said during his speech at the National Association for Business Economics, and to ensure the United States can "take a leading role" internationally.
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