More than 200 economists, artificial intelligence researchers and technology executives have called for immediate action to manage the economic upheaval AI could trigger, warning that policymakers may have only a narrow window to protect workers and shape how the technology is deployed.
The appeal was issued through “We Must Act Now,” an open letter organized by Stanford University’s Digital Economy Lab. Its signatories argue that AI could reshape employment, productivity and income distribution faster than previous technological revolutions, leaving governments little time to adapt existing labor and social policies.
Leading economists and AI figures push for urgent AI safeguards
The letter is backed by 16 Nobel laureates and other leading figures in economics and technology. Among the most prominent signatories are Daron Acemoglu, Joseph Stiglitz and Paul Krugman, as well as AI researcher Yoshua Bengio and former Google chief Eric Schmidt.
Their warning does not assume that mass unemployment is inevitable. Instead, it stresses that the outcome will depend heavily on the rules, incentives and institutions created while the technology is still developing.
AI could deliver major gains in productivity and living standards, the letter said, but those benefits may not be widely shared unless institutions steer the technology toward complementing human workers rather than replacing them.
AI disruption may unfold faster than past revolutions
Past breakthroughs such as electricity and computing unfolded over decades, giving companies, workers and governments time to adjust. AI may compress that transition into only a few years.
The group is calling for deeper research into the technology’s labor-market impact, stronger safeguards for affected workers and policies that steer companies toward using AI to support human employees rather than simply remove roles.
The letter does not prescribe a single policy response, warning instead that waiting for certainty could leave institutions reacting only after the transformation is already underway.
Its central argument is that AI’s economic impact is still open to influence, but the opportunity to shape it may not remain open for long.
Earlier warnings urged workers to adapt, not resist
The latest appeal echoes earlier calls from business leaders for employees to prepare for AI-driven change rather than resist it.
HSBC Chief Executive Georges Elhedery previously said generative AI would eliminate some banking roles while creating others, arguing that the priority should be retraining workers before disruption accelerates.
Speaking at an investor day, he said the bank was equipping its roughly 200,000 employees with new tools and skills to help them remain productive as automation reshapes financial services.
His message was that the central challenge was not predicting eventual job losses, but ensuring workers were prepared for the transition.