FOX Business host Charles Payne discusses the market shift driven by artificial intelligence on ‘Making Money.’
ANobel Prize-winning economisthas warned that persistent predictions of artificial intelligence destroying the job market could become a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Robert Shiller. who shared the 2013 Nobel Prize in economics for his work on asset prices, wrote a guest essay on Monday inThe New York Timesthat argued the panic over AI is not a new sociological phenomenon.
In fact, he wrote, humans have been worried that new technology could replace them since the days of Aristotle, who envisioned a self-powered loom. a lyre that could play music without someone plucking the strings.
And in the 19th century. a group of English textile workers — who later became known as Luddites — intentionally destroyed machines they believed would put them out of a job.
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Professor Robert J. Shiller wins the Nobel Prize in economic sciences during an awards ceremony on Dec. 10, 2013, in Stockholm, Sweden.(Pascal Le Segretain / Getty Images)
Shiller fears that similar anxieties inherent within us are rearing their head once again.
He cited aQuinnipiac pollfrom March that found that 70% of people believe AI will reduce the number of jobs. Additionally. only 16% of Americans believe AI will have a positive impact on society over the next two decades, according to aPew Research surveyconducted in June.
"Like many others, I believe AI could lower employment. But unlike most, I don’t necessarily blame thetechnologyitself. Instead, I worry about the potency of the fear it is generating," Shiller wrote.
"Our brains are wired to respond to stories. Narratives floating in a population can affect individuals’ economic decisions," he continued. "When millions of people make millions. millions of decisions based upon negative expectations, there is a risk that fear can actually help birth the reality."
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Robert Shiller attends the 2019 Forbes 30 Under 30 Summit at Detroit Masonic Temple on Oct. 29, 2019, in Detroit.(Taylor Hill / Getty Images)
Much of the negativemedia coveragearound AI centers on speculation over how much it will affect jobs and the economy.
In late May, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei toldAxiosthat, in the next one to five years, AI could eliminate half of all entry-level white-collar jobs. spike unemployment to as much as 20%. He later expressed uncertainty over the exact timeline.
The current unemployment rate is 4.3%, up from 4% at the beginning of President Donald Trump's term in January 2025.
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"While the job market has slowed for a host of reasons, there are reports that fear of an AI apocalypse is worsening the freeze. contributing to record lows in consumer sentiment," Shiller argued.
A CloudHQ data center in Ashburn, Va., May 31, 2026.(Lexi Critchett/Bloomberg / Getty Images)
Shiller implied that tech leaders like Amodei, who promote doom-and-gloom scenarios their own companies could help realize, are being somewhat short-sighted. should be reined in to prevent an economic recession.
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"Perhaps the best we can do is to appeal directly to the leaders of Silicon Valley who have been promoting these negative narratives with such vigor," Shiller wrote.
"Surely, the resulting media attention highlighting how dangerously powerful your AI model is may help you sell more wares,. it may be far harder to do so in a period of recession. Try not to forget the critical lessons taught by our past."
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