Sixteen Nobel Laureates and leading economists released a statement urging immediate preparation for the economic consequences of increasingly powerful AI systems. Organized by Erik Brynjolfsson, Ajay Agrawal, Anton Korinek, and Tom Cunningham, the statement warns of significant economic transformation and calls for proactive policy measures.
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Over 200 economists and AI researchers, including 16 Nobel laureates, jointly issued a statement calling for urgent global preparation for the economic changes brought by AI, stressing that AI capability growth outpaces institutional adaptation.
On July 13, 2026, a group of economists and AI researchers, including 16 Nobel laureates, released a document titled "We Must Act Now: A Statement on AI's Economic Transformation." The organizers include Erik Brynjolfsson of Stanford University, Ajay Agrawal of the University of Toronto, Anton Korinek (currently on leave from Anthropic), and Tom Cunningham.
The statement has been signed by over 200 economists and AI researchers worldwide, and the full text and list of signatories have been made public. This marks a rare consensus in the academic community on the urgency of AI's economic impact.
Brynjolfsson points out that AI capabilities are developing faster than our understanding of their economic implications, and it is essential to guide AI to complement rather than replace human work. Nobel laureates Michael Spence and Daron Acemoglu emphasize the need for coordinated action because the scale of AI's impact is large and uncertain.
Korinek compares the speed of AI transformation to that of steam and electricity, suggesting that societal adaptation time may be shorter. Agrawal and Cunningham stress that economic institutions should be proactively updated rather than reacting passively after major disruption.
The statement does not list specific policy recommendations but emphasizes the necessity of immediate action. The organizers call on policymakers, businesses, and the public to recognize AI's potential for economic transformation and to advance research to better understand its impact.
Brynjolfsson specifically emphasizes that AI should be designed to augment human capabilities, not simply replace them. This contrasts with the approach of some tech companies pursuing fully autonomous AI.
The information source is The AI Insider, a secondary source that republishes the statement's content without disclosing the full original statement. The statement was organized by well-known scholars, so credibility is high, but the original statement should be verified.
The academic community has reached a rare consensus on the urgency of AI's economic impact, warning that the window for action may be very short.
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