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

New York Times 2026-07-14 Ben Casselman

Context & Ripple Effects

The letter follows a longer record of AI researchers and public figures using open letters to press for societal safeguards, while Anthropic leadership has separately warned that entry-level white-collar work could be especially exposed.

It also arrives after Anthropic’s own early-warning work reported limited evidence of AI-caused job loss so far. That gap between anticipated disruption and observed effects makes the economists’ intervention a push to prepare policy before labor-market evidence becomes unequivocal.

First-order effects

The signatories give AI-related employment risk a more formal economic-policy constituency, increasing scrutiny of how AI developers and adopting employers assess workforce effects.
Anthropic is more visibly linked to the job-displacement debate through Jack Clark’s participation, alongside its existing public work on monitoring white-collar labor impacts.

Second-order effects

Employers deploying AI may face greater pressure to document whether tools are augmenting workers or reducing roles, particularly in entry-level white-collar functions already highlighted in related coverage.
The letter strengthens the case for policymakers and labor-market institutions to seek earlier indicators of AI-related displacement rather than waiting for broad unemployment data.

Third-order effects

If such warnings are followed by measurable displacement, AI governance could expand from model safety into labor-transition policy: monitoring, worker support, and expectations around responsible deployment.
The near-term policy debate will likely turn on evidence standards: advocates of precaution will press for action ahead of clear losses, while developers can point to the still-limited observed evidence cited by Anthropic.

The trend: AI policy is broadening from preventing model harms to managing the distributional consequences of rapid enterprise adoption, especially for knowledge-work entry points.

Discussion

@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
@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…
@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:
@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
@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
@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…
@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.
@_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.
@noahpinion Noah Smith on x
What action are they proposing? I can't find the specifics.
@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,
@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…
@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]
@ben_golub Ben Golub on x
glad to sign this
@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]
@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…
@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…
@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
@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…
@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
@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 …
@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.…
@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…
@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/
@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…
@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.
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.” …
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. …
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. …
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. …
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. …
@kenbazinet Ken Bazinet on bluesky
It was signed by nearly 200 people, including 15 Nobel laureates and chief economists of two leading A.I. labs, Open AI and Anthropic. Others include Jack Clark, a co-founder of Anthropic; Eric Schmidt, former chief executive of Google; and venture capitalist Vinod Khosla, The T…
@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/Economics 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
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 | …
@ramez Ramez Naam on x
This is my key difference with today's AI letter from economists. While we still have massively uncertainty about the economic impact of AI - from mass abundance to mass unemployment - increasing our understanding is the priority task, not putting controls on AI.

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