a16z co-founder Marc Andreessen joins the Fed's AI working group

Odaily Odaily reported that the Federal Reserve (Fed) has announced that a16z co-founder Marc Andreessen will join the "Productivity and Employment" working group led by Fed Chair Kevin Warsh to study the impact of artificial intelligence and emerging technologies on economic growth, the job market, and productivity. Other members of the working group include Stanford University economics professor Charles I. Jones (currently on leave working at Anthropic) and Microsoft Executive Vice President and Xbox head Asha Sharma.

The Fed stated that the working group will focus on assessing how general-purpose technologies like AI are changing productivity and employment structures, providing a reference for the central bank's future monetary policy formulation.

The "Productivity and Employment" working group is one of five policy research groups established after Kevin Warsh took office. Other groups will focus on areas such as Fed policy communication, balance sheet policy, data quality, and the inflation framework.

Marc Andreessen is a co-founder of a16z, one of Silicon Valley's most influential venture capital firms, which has long invested in artificial intelligence, cryptocurrencies, and tech startups. He and Warsh have a history spanning over 30 years, having both attended Stanford University earlier in their lives. Warsh previously stated that Marc Andreessen and Palantir co-founder Peter Thiel were his close friends from their university days.

Marc Andreessen has also publicly supported Warsh for the position of Fed Chair. He once stated on social platform X that Warsh "possesses both economic and financial insight, as well as a deep understanding of technology and business."

Warsh announced the establishment of five new policy research working groups on June 17, stating that these topics "have practical significance and important impact" and require joint study by top experts from both within and outside the economics field.

Meanwhile, there are still clear divisions within the Fed regarding the economic impact of AI.

Some officials believe that AI will bring long-term deflationary effects by enhancing productivity, helping to reduce costs and drive economic growth; other officials believe that the large-scale investment currently surrounding AI infrastructure is increasing economic pressure and may push up inflation. (Cointelegraph)