IMF chief warns of ‘substantial disruptions’ in labour markets

Economic Counsellor and Director of the Research Department of IMF Gopinath poses in Davos for a picture.

The Financial Times reported that IMF First Deputy Managing Director Gita Gopinath has warned of substantial disruptions in the labor markets stemming from generative artificial intelligence and called on policymakers to quickly create rules to govern the technology.

We need governments, we need institutions and we need policymakers to move quickly on all fronts, in terms of regulation, but also in terms of preparing for probably substantial disruptions in labour markets, Gopinath said.

She advocated for governments to enhance social safety nets for workers affected by AI and worked on tax policies that don't reward companies replacing employees with machines.

In the case of some corporations, Gopinath cautioned policymakers to be careful in case some corporations emerge with an unassailable position in the new technology.

You don't want to have supersized companies with massive amounts of data and computing power that have an unfair advantage, Gopinath said.