Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to students: Stop worrying about AI and start learning …

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell urged students to focus on learning artificial intelligence (AI) tools rather than worrying about their impact on jobs. Speaking to nearly 400 Harvard economics students, Powell said young people are entering a difficult job market where hiring has slowed and new technologies are changing work. Acknowledging concerns about AI replacing jobs, Powell said it can also improve productivity and create opportunities.

Jerome Powell says learn AI to stay competitive

During the discussion, Powell said, “There’s no denying it’s a challenging time to enter the labor market.” He noted that job creation is currently low and that AI is adding to uncertainty for new graduates.However, he encouraged students to adapt to the changes. “I think you’re in a situation where you need to invest the time to really master the use of these new technologies, and that should stand you in good stead,” Powell said.He also shared his own experience using AI tools. “My observation is that these large language models make people much more productive,” he said, adding, “I feel like it’s making me more productive, because I can learn things really quickly.”Powell said many companies are already looking at how AI can change their workforce needs. “The truth is, they can take out a lot of jobs that can be automated by a very smart large language model. They just can, and they will,” he said. He added that companies are under pressure to reduce costs as competitors adopt similar technologies.Despite this, Powell said AI should not be seen only as a threat. He pointed to past technological changes that disrupted jobs but eventually improved productivity and living standards.“If you look back through history… this has been going on for a couple hundred years,” he said, referring to earlier industrial changes.Powell added that while the transition may take time, he remains positive about the future. “It may take some patience,” he said, but “in the longer term, this economy is going to give you great opportunities.”