Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan stated on Monday that artificial intelligence (AI) is beginning to exert a more significant influence on the U.S. economy.
During a media interview, Moynihan remarked: "AI-related investments have been accumulating this year and will likely become an even greater growth driver in the coming years. While AI is playing an increasingly prominent role, economic growth doesn't solely stem from AI. However, its marginal impact is substantial and clearly noticeable."
Having led Bank of America for nearly 15 years, Moynihan projected robust U.S. economic performance in 2025, with growth expected to reach 2.4%, up from approximately 2% this year. He noted that although the labor market has shown signs of softening, this appears more like a normalization process rather than a downturn.
In recent months, AI firms including OpenAI have attracted billions in investments as investors aggressively bet on the sector. However, executives like Amazon founder Jeff Bezos have cautioned that AI spending could form an "industrial bubble," potentially leading to short-term investment losses while still delivering long-term societal benefits.
Moynihan emphasized that Bank of America views the potential overheating and subsequent cooling of the AI sector as posing limited risks to the broader economy. The impact on consumers and employment would be relatively contained since the industry remains concentrated among a select group of companies.
"As lenders, we monitor the leverage levels of these projects to ensure they meet our comfort thresholds," he explained. "We also evaluate whether end-users committing to data centers have sufficiently robust contract terms."
Moynihan revealed that Bank of America actively employs AI internally. The bank launched its virtual assistant Erica in 2018, which has since expanded its capability from answering 200 queries to handling 700 today.
"We're progressively implementing automated intelligence—or what we call augmented intelligence, where humans leverage AI tools to enhance efficiency," Moynihan added. "This transformation will permeate all business areas."
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