Larry Summers predicts AI threatens robust US job growth

The U.S. labor market continues to hum along after remaining historically tight for the past year, but recent comments by famed economist Larry Summers suggest the robust job numbers could eventually become a thing of the past due to artificial intelligence.

March’s jobs report released Friday exceeded expectations, with employers adding 303,000 jobs last month while the unemployment rate inched lower to 3.8%. The demand for labor has shown no signs of slowing after months of solid job gains even after the Federal Reserve’s aggressive rate-hike campaign.

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But speaking last week at Fortune’s Innovation Forum in Hong Kong, Summers, a former U.S. Treasury secretary and now-OpenAI board member, said that over time, AI will replace human workers in nearly every job.

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“If one takes a view over the next generation, this could be the biggest thing that has happened in economic history since the Industrial Revolution,” Summers said. “This offers the prospect of not replacing some forms of human labor, but almost all forms of human labor.”

Giving a few examples, he predicted, “AI will substitute for a doctor making a difficult diagnosis… before it substitutes for a nurse’s ability to hold a patient’s hand when the patient is frightened.”

FOX Business’ Megan Henney contributed to this report.