Nearly 200 economists, including 15 Nobel laureates and Anthropic's Jack Clark, sign a letter titled We Must Act Now, warning of rapid AI-led job displacement

Nearly 200 economists signed a letter calling for policymakers to do more to understand and respond to potential A.I. disruptions.

New York Times 2026-07-13 Ben Casselman

Context & Ripple Effects

The letter follows a June debate among economists in the related coverage: productivity gains from AI were widely expected, while far fewer participants expected net job growth. That makes this intervention notable as a shift from forecasting AI’s labor effects to urging a policy response.

It also sits in a longer pattern of AI figures using public letters to press for governance, from societal-benefit research in 2015 to calls against autonomous weapons. Anthropic is already associated in this corpus with efforts to advance tougher AI safety rules at the state level.

First-order effects

The signatories put AI-driven displacement more directly on the agenda for policymakers, framing labor-market monitoring and response as urgent rather than a distant research question.
Jack Clark’s participation further links Anthropic personnel to the public debate over AI’s economic consequences, alongside the company’s existing safety-policy activity.

Second-order effects

Employers, AI vendors, and policymakers face greater pressure to substantiate claims that AI deployment will complement workers or deliver broadly shared productivity gains.
The letter may strengthen the case for connecting AI governance discussions to labor-market institutions and worker-transition policy, rather than treating safety rules as a separate agenda.

Third-order effects

If similar interventions continue as deployment spreads, AI policy is likely to be judged increasingly by distributional outcomes—who gains productivity benefits and who bears displacement—not only by model safety or competitiveness.
A durable split may emerge between rapid implementation strategies and governance approaches that condition adoption on evidence, adjustment capacity, and protections for affected workers.

The trend: AI governance is broadening from technical-risk and competitiveness debates toward the economic distribution of automation’s gains and costs.

Discussion

@erikbryn Erik Brynjolfsson on x
Here's our statement on AI and the economy... 1. AI may become radically more powerful over the next 10 years. 2. This could drive an unprecedented transformation of our economy, larger than the Industrial Revolution, but unfolding over a vastly shorter time frame. It could br…
@dacemoglumit Daron Acemoglu on x
...Finally and most importantly, I wholeheartedly agree with the ending: “to build the incentives, guardrails, and institutions needed to steer AI in a direction that complements humans and benefits society.” This is what I have been arguing for over a decade now. Good AI needs…
@anecdotal Hollis Robbins on x
I get the intention but the last thing young people need is pronouncements about awareness and the need to take things seriously. They need roadmaps and specifics and for instances. They assume AI will transform everything and assumed that grownups were already in the room.
@orgrem Rem Koning on x
I joined an incredible set of scholars and tech leaders who signed a letter urging policymakers everywhere to invest more in understanding AI's impact. So if you're a policymaker, and you read @bencasselman's NYT piece or landed on https://www.wemustactnow.ai/, what can you do *n…
@ben_golub Ben Golub on x
glad to sign this
@yoshua_bengio Yoshua Bengio on x
If the trajectories of AI development observed for several years now continue, it is highly plausible that AI will drastically transform our economies. We must be intentional and make collective, democratic choices, rather than letting market forces play out and risking leaving
@emollick Ethan Mollick on x
This seems like a reasonable statement: it seems self-evident that we do not know the impact of AI on work & trying to understand that will be critical to policies to mitigate bad impacts and encourage good ones. Data will be critical to action & we need to start gathering it now…
@erikbryn Erik Brynjolfsson on x
We must act now. AI capabilities are advancing far faster than our understanding of the economic implications. We must act now to guide AI to complement humans rather than simply imitate them — and to generate prosperity for the many, not just the few. I'm delighted that 16
@soumitrashukla9 Soumitra Shukla on x
I was pleased to join more than 200 economists and AI researchers in signing “We Must Act Now: A Statement on AI's Transformation of the Economy.” Here's the full statement: 1. AI may become radically more powerful over the next 10 years. 2. This could drive an unprecedented [ima…
@andrewcurran_ Andrew Curran on x
More than 200 researchers and economists including Jack Clark, Jeff Dean, Noam Brown, Tyler Cowen, Sholto Douglas, John Schulman, Yoshua Bengio, Eric Schmidt, and Dean Ball have signed a statement urging governments and institutions to act now to prepare for AI's economic impact.…
@martinberaja Martin Beraja on x
One gentle push-back on the framing, Ben: it's not really about AI “threats.” The letter is even-handed by design — and I signed it precisely because it is even-handed. Urgency, not alarmism. It conveys the importance of this moment while highlighting the opportunities, not ju…
@vaguirregabiria Victor Aguirregabiria on x
I joined economists and AI researchers in signing “We Must Act Now: A Statement on AI's Transformation of the Economy,” https://www.wemustactnow.ai/ calling for greater investment in understanding the economic impacts of increasingly capable AI and building the incentives, guardr…
@rodolfor Rodolfo Rosini on x
A decade ago I told this the to the AI group in Parliament (sitting next to @Miles_Brundage!) and I came to the conclusion that they just don't get it, and expecting leadership from politicians on disruptive innovation is a dangerous mirage. [image]
@bencasselman Ben Casselman on x
A group of economists and tech leaders (including 15 Nobel laureates, and the chief economists at Open AI and Anthropic) are warning about the disruptions A.I. could cause, and calling on policymakers to prepare.
@afinetheorem Kevin A. Bryan on x
I also signed this short open letter. My interpretation is that it is not about AI threats, but about the pace of change: AI capabilities are developing very rapidly, with potentially very positive benefits for mankind but also serious safety risks. 1/3 [image]
@boazbaraktcs Boaz Barak on x
Happy to join more than 200 economists and AI researchers in signing this statement on the urgency of acting now to understand and prepare for the economic impacts of AI. https://www.wemustactnow.ai/
@mollykinder Molly Kinder on x
I was happy to sign this statement and pleased to see the leadership and momentum behind it. Here's my own two cents to add to it, from here in DC. I don't think policymakers' job is limited to steering AI. What flows from the first two statements is a generational challenge:
@_gabrielunger Gabriel Unger on x
i signed. my own interpretation: 1. AI can develop in different directions, doesn't have an internal logic, up to us. more econ research can help fight for better directions. 2. US productivity growth stagnant for decades. another point: help understand how to make most of this.
@sophiakazinnik Sophia Kazinnik on x
I, too, happily signed this. I truly dont understand why people read this and see dirigisme. To me, the very last part ("...and to build the incentives, guardrails, and institutions needed to steer AI in a direction that complements humans and benefits society") is not a call for
@erikbryn Erik Brynjolfsson on x
@Noahpinion We'd like to draw attention to the need to do more to understand the economics of transformative AI and to build the incentives, guardrails, and institutions needed to steer AI in a direction that complements humans and benefits society. I'm glad you've been helping w…
@kimmonismus @kimmonismus on x
The most important AI researchers of our time take AI seriously - not only because of its capabilities, but because it could accelerate economic growth and scientific progress at an unprecedented pace. We should take it seriously, too. [image]
@gitagopinath Gita Gopinath on x
I signed this statement. The capabilities of AI models really jumped end-2025 and now exceptional disruptions and exceptional rewards seem more probable. Urgent thought and action needed, including on global governance. Thanks to @erikbryn, Ajay Agrawal, @akorinek, @testingham
@kenono691 Ken Ono on x
Why did I sign this statement? While AI is incredibly promising and fundamentally transforming how we do math research, it is also triggering massive disruptions for the future of work and our education system, issues I care deeply about. I signed because we urgently need
@rand_longevity Rand on x
the smartest people in the world are trying to let you know the machines are absolutely going to take your job
@ronniechatterji Ronnie Chatterji on x
Thanks to @erikbryn and team for organizing this letter, which I signed along with a wide variety of economists and tech leaders. Glad we are working together on this important agenda,
@ccatalini Christian Catalini on x
I signed the “We Must Act Now” statement alongside 16 Nobel laureates. My reason is narrower than most: whoever owns the intelligence layer owns everything on top of it. We must keep it open, neutral, and competitive. Or we'll spend the next century renting our economy back. [ima…
@noahpinion Noah Smith on x
What action are they proposing? I can't find the specifics.
@mattbeane Matt Beane on x
Along with about 200 social scientists and technologists, I signed the statement on AI that's in the @nytimes today: https://www.wemustactnow.ai/ This was crafted so all could agree. My take: high likelihood of great risk/opportunity. Time to act was 2023, but *immediately* will …
Christian Catalini Christian Catalini on linkedin
I signed the “We Must Act Now” statement alongside 16 Nobel laureates. My reason is narrower than most: whoever owns the intelligence layer owns everything on top of it. …
Christie Ko Christie Ko on linkedin
I joined prominent thinkers, economists, tech leaders, and 15 Nobel prize winners in signing a Statement on AI and Economics. …
Oskar Nordström Skans Oskar Nordström Skans on linkedin
I joined more than 200 leading economists and AI researchers in signing “We Must Act Now: A Statement on AI's Transformation of the Economy.” …
Nathan Ramsey Nathan Ramsey on linkedin
The challenge is the occupations least likely to be disrupted by AI are the occupations employers already face the greatest difficulty in hiring. …
Yoshua Bengio Yoshua Bengio on linkedin
If the trajectories of AI development observed for several years now continue, it is highly plausible that AI will drastically transform our economies. …
Christina Langer Christina Langer on linkedin
When Erik Brynjolfsson asked me to be among the initial co-signers of “We Must Act Now: A Statement on AI's Transformation of the Economy,” it didn't take me long to say yes. …
@rachelcoldicutt Rachel Coldicutt on bluesky
Hang on, there's another “AI is terrible” letter? And this one is signed by Jack Clark and a bunch of other Anthropic/OpenAI folk. I hate to say this lads, but I have news for you... www.nytimes.com/2026/07/13/b...
@karlbode.com Karl Bode on bluesky
I'm sure these 200 economists are all clearly calling out how autocratic corruption is dismantling regulatory autonomy, undermining any effort to protect labor or consumers before it even begins, right?
r/technology r on reddit
“We Must Act Now”: Sixteen Nobel Laureates Join Leading Economists and AI Researchers in Call to Prepare for AI's Economic Transformation | …

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