AI could cause global economic downturn, Bank of England chief warns

The governor of the Bank of England has warned G20 finance ministers that artificial intelligence could cause a global economic downturn and pose a significant cyber security risk to financial systems. Andrew Bailey said any collapse of growth in the AI sector could lead to a future market correction that spreads worldwide. In an open letter to finance ministers in the US on Monday, he said companies around the world should prepare for security breaches involving simultaneous disruption across multiple firms. Earlier this month, a group of 100 firms, including Google, Microsoft, Anthropic and OpenAI, urged countries and groups to beef up their cyber defences before AI grows powerful enough to override them. Bailey told the G20 finance ministers that a combination of highly priced stock markets, increased borrowing by investors, and the growing concentration of money into a small number of major technology companies could amplify any future market correction.