On November 2, 2023, Daron Acemoglu testified at the US Senate’s third AI Insight Forum, focused on the impacts of AI on the workforce.

Executive summary: Generative AI is potentially transformative, not because it can write Shakespearelike sonnets, but because it has a unique capability to produce human-complementary, pro-worker tools. If these tools are developed and adopted widely, AI can boost both productivity and wage growth. But we are currently heading toward a very different future, in which AI technologies are focused on automation and surveillance. On this path, AI will increase inequality, limit wage growth and probably fail to deliver on its potential to raise productivity. Government policies can play an important role in redirecting AI in a more pro-worker direction.