CEA Nageswaran flags five risks of AI, warns of threats to jobs, human skills & financial stability

Chief Economic Adviser (CEA) Anantha Nageswaran has warned that finance ministries, central banks and households could bear the cost if current optimism around artificial intelligence (AI) proves misplaced, adding that they may still end up paying part of the bill even if those expectations are met."Finance ministries, central banks, and households will pay the bill if today's optimism on AI proves wrong. They may pay part of it even if it proves right," said the CEA. Laying out the five risks, the CEA said the first is that the AI boom could threaten entry-level jobs, disrupting the first rung of the career ladder. "Firms are hiring fewer juniors. In a study of 41 countries, the junior share of the workforce fell in 23 of the 31 that could be measured. In the United States, employment of 22 to 25 year olds in the most exposed jobs has fallen about 19% behind that of the older workers in the same jobs. The people who will check AI's work tomorrow are made on that first rung today. Today, for developing countries, the stakes are much higher."