Trump official: AI effect on jobs is 'far away'

The Trump administration appears to be taking a hands-off approach to preparing for the future of automation and artificial intelligence, despite warnings from tech analysts who say AI is already here and helped guide policy measures enacted in the waning months of the Obama presidency. During a press event last week, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told reporters he's not concerned by the prospect of millions of Americans losing their jobs to artificial intelligence, saying he doesn't expect the technological shift to happen for a long time. "That is so far in the future, in terms of artificial intelligence taking over American jobs, we're like so far away from that, not even on my radar screen," Mnuchin said at an event hosted by news website Axios. "I think it's 50 or 100 more years." Although it's unclear whether Mnuchin's comments represent a formal administration position, the treasury secretary is traditionally one of the president's most influential economic advisers.