The artificial intelligence It will destroy jobs in the first phase, but it will end up generating new jobs and more economic growth if governments accompany the transition with appropriate educational and labor policies, defended this Tuesday the French economist Philippe Aghion, winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics in 2025.
Faced with some of his colleagues who anticipate that artificial intelligence will have a negative impact on employment without translating into greater economic growth, Aghion argued that, with the right public policies, this technology can simultaneously boost productivity, growth and the creation of new jobs.
At a conference at Cercle d’Economia (Círculo de Economía), in Barcelona, the promoter of the theory of “creative destruction” He defined himself as a “cautious optimist” regarding what AI can unleash on the global economy and productive systems.
“The problem is that job destruction can occur before it begins to be created,” said the professor in the Collège de France and the London School of Economics (LSE).
Pending good management
Aghion maintained that, for now, empirical evidence does not show a widespread negative impact of AI on the labor market, although he admits that some jobs, especially those linked to administrative tasks, are more exposed to automation.
The academic estimated that the use of artificial intelligence can boost productivity by around one percentage point annually for ten years, and then stabilize.
Its impact – he added – will depend on how it is managed: “A horse can make you hit a wall if you don’t guide it well. If you guide it well, it can take you very far.”
And he highlighted the importance of education: “We need children who can read books, write without making mistakes and do mental calculations without having to use AI.”
Competition and financing policies
Beyond employment, Aghion warned that Europe has lagged behind the United States and China in technological innovation and called for a combination of industrial and competition policies that favor investment and the emergence of new companies.
He advocated for “smart” regulation that encourages competition and prevents large companies from using their dominant position to block the entry of new, more innovative competitors, and called for more funding for innovative European companies.
In particular, he advocated creating tax incentives for pension funds and other large investors to allocate a greater share of European savings to finance local businessesinstead of channeling those resources into the American economy.
The world doesn’t need billionaires
The French Nobel Prize winner also maintained that the world doesn’t need billionaires and proposed that those who reach these levels of wealth be encouraged to create private foundations that contribute to financing public policies such as education and unemployment systems.
If they do not accept that option, he is in favor of raising taxes “to the maximum” as a way for part of that money to “return to society.”
