AI Threatens ‘Jobs With Dignity,’ Says Nobel-Winning Economist
Simon Johnson warns the technology could erode middle-class jobs and widen inequality, unless policymakers start tackling the issue now.
Simon Johnson.
Illustration: Jaya Nicely for Bloomberg Markets
Economist Simon Johnson isn’t mincing words about artificial intelligence. Good jobs are at risk, and governments need to be ready.
He knows a thing or two about eras of world-shaking change. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor shared the 2024 Nobel Prize in economics for his work on the long-lasting impact of Europe’s former empires on growth, how prosperity can come about and the importance of institutions in managing that process. His work helps explain why some countries are rich and some poor. In December the British-American Johnson was appointed an AI ambassador by the United Kingdom. In that role, he wants to focus on how the benefits of the technology can be more broadly shared.