AI will be revolutionary and transformative in the global economy. It fails absent the plan

In June 2023, a study of the economic potential of generative artificial intelligence estimated that the technology could add more than $4 trillion dollars annually to the global economy. This would be on top of the $11 trillion that nongenerative AI and other forms of automation could contribute. These are enormous numbers: by comparison, the entire German economy--the world's fourth largest--is worth about $4 trillion. According to the study, produced by the McKinsey Global Institute, this astonishing impact will come largely from gains in productivity. At least in the near term, such exuberant projections will likely outstrip reality. Numerous technological, process-related, and organizational hurdles, as well as industry dynamics, stand in the way of an AI-driven global economy But just because the transformation may not be immediate does not mean the eventual effect will be small. By the beginning of the next decade, the shift to AI could become a leading driver of global prosperity. The prospective gains to the world economy derive from the rapid advances in ai--now further expanded by generative AI, or AI that can create new content, and its potential applications in just about every aspect of human and economic activity. If these innovations can be harnessed, AI could reverse the long-term declines in productivity growth that many advanced economies now face. This economic revolution will not happen on its own. Much recent debate has focused on the dangers that AI poses and the need for international regulations to prevent catastrophic harm. As important, however, will be the introduction of positive policies that foster AI's most productive uses. These policies must promote technologies that augment human capabilities rather than simply replace them; encourage AI's widest possible implementation, both within and across different sectors, especially in areas that tend to have lower productivity; and ensure that firms and sectors undergo necessary process and organizational changes and innovations to effectively capitalize on AI's potential. To unleash the full force of an AI-powered economy, then, will require not only a new policy framework but also a new mindset toward artificial intelligence. Ultimately, AI technologies must be embraced as tools that can enhance, rather than undermine, human potential and ingenuity.