Kevin Hassett told reporters on Monday that artificial intelligence is generating employment instead of eliminating it, as many fear. The National Economic Council director and senior adviser to President Donald Trump said preliminary scholarly research indicates companies that implement AI experience growth in sales, hiring and wages.
Public anxiety remains high
Despite this view, polls show most U.S. adults fear AI will lead to job loss. The Pew Research Center found that 71% of U.S. adults believe AI will erode employment over the next two decades. Public anxiety has grown, with 73% of adults under 30 believing AI will lead to fewer jobs, a jump of 12 percentage points in two years.
The president dismissed concerns about the technology going rogue. “The only control or ‘guardrails’ that AI needs is a STRONG AND SMART (High IQ!) PRESIDENT, and the U.S.A. has that, in spades!” he said in a Truth Social post. He also claimed there is a “SICK conspiracy going on against AI and Data Centers” that benefits China.
Investment and growth
Hassett compared the current wave of AI adoption to the internet boom of the 1990s. He said the growth benefit of AI is likely larger than expected, noting a surge in investment in data centers, power systems, networking equipment, and specialized semiconductors.
Stijn Van Nieuwerburgh, a Columbia University professor, projected that U.S. investment in AI from 2025 through 2032 will total $10.3 trillion, or an average of 3.63% of gross domestic product per year. This capital spending is expected to drive a productivity boom.
The market’s not showing a lot of stress from AI, but to the extent that there is stress, it’s actually the workers at the firms that aren’t using AI. The firms that don’t employ AI start to fail, whereas the companies that integrate the technology experience significant gains. In the absence of external shocks to the economy, annual GDP growth will likely hit 4%, according to the analysis. Furthermore, the economy during the third quarter ending Wednesday will likely grow at an annual rate of 5%, according to a forecast by the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta.
