Around the world, supply is struggling to keep up with demand. Inflation remains stubbornly high, despite aggressive interest-rate hikes. The global workforce is aging rapidly. Labor shortages are ubiquitous and persistent.
These are just some of the forces behind the productivity challenge facing the global economy. And it has become increasingly clear that we must harness artificial intelligence to address that challenge.
Over the last four decades, rapid emerging-economy growth brought a surge in productive capacity, which acted as a powerful supply-side disinflationary force. China, in particular, served as a robust engine of growth. But that emerging-economy growth engine has weakened substantially in recent years. China’s post-pandemic growth is well below potential and declining.