Artificial Intelligence May Cost US Millions Of Jobs, Increase Inequality, If Social Safety Nets Aren't Strengthened, White House Report Warns

Artificial intelligence-driven automation will be a crucial driver of economic growth in the U.S., but if not handled properly, it can also lead to a massive disruption in the current livelihoods of millions of Americans and could -- at least in the short term -- even increase societal inequality. This is the crux of a new report on the economic impact of AI released Tuesday by the White House. The report -- a follow-up to a previous one released by the White House in October -- urges policymakers to be prepared to face "a range of potential outcomes," as an accurate assessment of the AI's impact on the economy is dauntingly hard to make. "It is possible that AI will not have large, new effects on the economy, such that the coming years are subject to the same basic workforce trends seen in recent decades -- some of which are positive, and others which are worrisome and may require policy changes," the White House said in its report. "Because the effects of AI-driven automation will be felt across the whole economy, and the areas of greatest impact may be difficult to predict, policy responses must be targeted to the whole economy."