Over 200 economists warn that artificial intelligence could change the economy faster than the Industrial Revolution did.

More than 200 economists, including 16 Nobel Prize winners, have signed a statement titled "We must act now," published on Monday, warning about the unforeseen impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on the economy and the labor market.

They argue that the rapid evolution of AI could generate an unprecedented economic transformation in the next decade, larger than the Industrial Revolution, but within a much shorter timeframe. The signatories, including renowned economists such as Anton Korinek and Michael Spence, emphasize that AI can bring both productivity gains and major risks, such as job displacement.

The statement calls on governments and technology companies to accelerate research on the economic impact of AI and to develop institutions to guide this evolution. Although the document does not propose concrete policies, it highlights the lack of necessary tools to assess the real effects of AI, including difficulties in measuring the exposure of professions to automation.

Erik Brynjolfsson from Stanford University is working on a labor market monitoring system to quickly identify the effects of AI on the labor market, emphasizing that the speed of AI's evolution exceeds the understanding of its economic implications.