UVA Darden Professor Helps Organize National Statement on AI and the Economy

UVA Darden Professor Helps Organize National Statement on AI and the Economy

A warning about artificial intelligence’s potential effects on jobs and the economy, co-organized by University of Virginia Darden School of Business Professor Anton Korinek, is generating national attention.

“We Must Act Now: A Statement on AI’s Transformation of the Economy” was initially signed by more than 200 economists and AI researchers, including 16 Nobel laureates. The statement has been covered by The New York Times, Reuters and other national outlets.

Darden Assistant Professor Roshni Raveendhran, whose research examines technology, human behavior and the future of work, is also among the initial signatories, along with four other UVA faculty members.

The statement argues that AI could produce economic change on the scale of the Industrial Revolution, but over a much shorter period. Its signatories call for more research and preparation around the technology’s possible effects on employment, productivity, education and public institutions.

Korinek, who holds appointments at Darden and UVA’s Department of Economics, co-organized the statement with Erik Brynjolfsson of Stanford University, Ajay Agrawal of the University of Toronto and Tom Cunningham of METR. Korinek is currently on leave from UVA while serving as head of Transformative AI Economic Studies at Anthropic.

Many of the ideas now attracting attention were part of a broader discussion convened at Darden last year.

Korinek delivered the closing keynote at the LaCross Institute for Ethical AI in Business’ December 2025 conference. He argued that AI could rapidly reshape the economy on a sweeping scale and explored possible consequences for employment, inequality and education. Other speakers at the conference examined AI’s opportunities, limitations and uneven effects across organizations and society.

“Anton brought many of these questions to Darden last year, and this statement has now carried them into a broader public conversation,” said Patrick Higgins, managing director of the LaCross Institute. “These are among the critical questions leaders must navigate as AI continues to evolve. Our goal at LaCross is not to share a single viewpoint but to keep fostering thoughtful discussion across a range of perspectives so leaders can better understand the stakes and make responsible decisions amid uncertainty.”

The statement reflects the views of its individual signatories and represents one contribution to an unsettled debate about the pace, scale and consequences of AI-driven economic change.

The LaCross Institute’s next UVA Conference on Ethical AI in Business is scheduled for 4 December 2026 at Darden.

The University of Virginia Darden School of Business prepares responsible global leaders through unparalleled transformational learning experiences. Darden’s graduate degree programs (Full-Time MBA, Part-Time MBA, Executive MBA, MSBA and Ph.D.) and Executive Education & Lifelong Learning programs offered by the Darden School Foundation set the stage for a lifetime of career advancement and impact. Darden’s top-ranked faculty, renowned for teaching excellence, inspires and shapes modern business leadership worldwide through research, thought leadership and business publishing. Darden has Grounds in Charlottesville, Virginia, and the Washington, D.C., area and a global community that includes 20,000 alumni in 90 countries. Darden was established in 1955 at the University of Virginia, a top public university founded by Thomas Jefferson in 1819 in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Molly Mitchell Senior Associate Director, Editorial and Media Relations Darden School of Business University of Virginia MitchellM@darden.virginia.edu