SF Fed chief urges caution on AI boom extremes
Mary C. Daly said San Francisco should avoid extreme claims about the AI economy while rents rise and tech workers worry about layoffs. She said generative AI has so far been used more to support workers than to replace them.
San Francisco Federal Reserve President and CEO Mary C. Daly addressed AI and the local economy Thursday at the Bloomberg Tech Conference in San Francisco. She declined to use the words "bubble" or "recession" when asked about the city's AI boom, saying the harder work is in managing the middle ground as the technology changes jobs and wealth.
Daly said inflation remains a concern, with Bay Area consumer prices up 3.8% year over year in April and San Francisco rents far above the national median. She also pointed to anxiety among software engineers and other tech workers, while saying current generative AI use has mostly added to workers' capabilities rather than displaced them.