Economic Policy for AGI
Google DeepMind Institute (AI lab research) · 16 Sep 2026
Read original sourceOpen accessNot peer reviewed
Where this sits in the debate
- Will AI destroy more jobs than it creates?
- Will AI widen inequality? · its finding supports the claim (why studies differ)
- Should governments act on AI now? · its finding supports the claim (why studies differ)
Direction of the finding as read from the abstract by an AI model (AI-written).
Key takeaway AI-written
A DeepMind Institute essay on economic policy for a world with artificial general intelligence. It notes that past technological transitions raised long-run living standards but lowered wages for many and deepened inequality in the short term, and asks which policies could reduce that harm this time while keeping the benefits.
Source excerpt
Growing anxiety about how AI will impact jobs and the economy is emerging as a major issue across broad swaths of society. It is already a top concern for political candidates and for younger generations – all before the effect of AI shows up in most economic data . AI capabilities have increased tremendously over the last few years, and they show no signs of slowing down. A future economy infused with artificial general intelligence (AGI)—advanced AI systems capable of performing cognitive tasks at least at the level of the average person—could bring huge benefits. This includes improvements in health, leisure time, and higher standards of living. Yet concerns about AI’s economic impacts make sense. In the past, major technological transformations have boosted long-run living standards, granting humanity prosperity and health that would have been unfathomable to our ancestors. Yet in the short term, significant transformations have often also produced lower wages for many, hollowed out regional economies, and deepened inequality . In other words, many people who lived through technological transitions were hurt by the periods of innovation that they lived through. The question is: Can we reduce or avoid such harm this time, while preserving the benefits of technological progress? In the past, countries have struggled to adequately manage productivity-boosting economic transitions. During the Industrial Revolution and the early 20th century, policy often came after the fact, deploying redistributive interventions once the shock and disruption had occurred. In some instances, this may have been due to poor institutions and access to data. In others, slower responses were the result of concerns about acting too early in creating technology-adjustment policy. Previous shocks have also differed from AGI in important ways. Unlike prior technologies that automated routine work and created new industries, by automating intelligence itself, AGI could allow for far more comp
About this publication
Lab or institute research, not peer reviewed. A report or blog post published by an AI lab or research institute on its own site. It has not been through independent peer review, and the publisher may have a stake in the findings.
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- 2026 (recently)
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