Kara Frederick, tech director at the Heritage Foundation, discusses the need for regulations on artificial intelligence as lawmakers and tech titans discuss the potential risks. A Nobel Prize-winning economist is sounding the alarm about the future of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) careers amid the rapid development of artificial intelligence, arguing that many of the currently in-demand jobs could soon be obsolete. "The skills that are needed now -- to collect the data, collate it, develop it and use it to develop the next phase of AI, or more to the point, make AI more applicable for jobs -- will make the skills that are needed now obsolete because it will be doing the job," said Christopher Pissarides, a professor of economics at the London School of Economics, in a recent interview, according to a report from Time. "Despite the fact that you see growth, they're still not as numerous as might be required to have jobs for all those graduates coming out with STEM because that's what they want to do." The comments come as 2023 became a breakthrough year for AI technology, which has rapidly developed and gained increased mainstream applications.

A Nobel Prize-winning labor market economist has cautioned younger generations against piling into studying science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) subjects, saying "empathetic" and creative skills may thrive in a world dominated by artificial intelligence. Christopher Pissarides, professor of economics at the London School of Economics, said that workers in certain IT jobs risk sowing their "own seeds of self-destruction" by advancing AI that will eventually take the same jobs in the future. While Pissarides is an optimist on AI's overall impact on the jobs market, he raised concerns for those taking STEM subjects hoping to ride the coattails of the technological advances. He said that despite rapid growth in the demand for STEM skills currently, jobs requiring more traditional face-to-face skills, such as in hospitality and healthcare, will still dominate the jobs market. "The skills that are needed now -- to collect the data, collate it, develop it, and use it to develop the next phase of AI or more to the point make AI more applicable for jobs -- will make the skills that are needed now obsolete because it will be doing the job," he said in an interview.

The ChatGPT revolution opens the door to a four-day work week by providing a major productivity boost for swathes of jobs, according to a Nobel Prize-winning labor economist. Christopher Pissarides--a professor at the London School of Economics who specializes in the impact of automation on work--said the labor market can adapt quickly enough to artificial intelligence-backed chatbots. His remark may tamp down concerns that rapid advances in technology could bring mass job losses. "I'm very optimistic that we could increase productivity," he said in an interview at a conference in Glasgow. "We could increase our well-being generally from work and we could take off more leisure. We could move to a four-day week easily."

A leading economist has inadvertently caused a storm by saying he preferred the voice on the iPhone Siri virtual assistant to be male because he felt that made it more trustworthy. Nobel prize laureate Sir Christopher Pissarides's comments at a conference in Norway attracted fierce criticism. He told the BBC he apologised for upsetting people and his comment was meant to be "light-hearted". "It's a mistake and I'm sorry, but the audience was laughing." Sir Christopher was part of an all-male panel taking part in a Q&A audience discussion at the Starmus Festival in Trondheim about the future of humanity.