A series of task forces aimed at bringing outside thinking to the Federal Reserve will include the “best minds,” Chairman Kevin Warsh said Thursday. For a task force that could be particularly important to the Fed’s management of the economy – on artificial intelligence – these outsiders all seem to be leaning in the same direction.
The members of Warsh’s AI task force all seem to believe that AI will be a transformative technology with far-reaching impacts on growth and productivity. This is consistent with Warsh’s own views. He personally selected the members of the task force.
The AI task force was one of five the Fed set up on Thursday. Its official mission is to “assess the economic impact of new general-purpose technologies, including artificial intelligence, to support the Federal Reserve’s policy decisions.” It is led by three outside advisors: venture capitalist Marc Andreessen, economist Charles I. Jones and Xbox CEO Asha Sharma.
Everyone has recently commented or written clearly positively about the impact of AI on the economy.
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The Fed chairman is a long-time proponent of AI’s potentially transformative economic potential. Its passage is “perhaps as important a shift in the economy, businesses and households as we have seen in my adult life,” Warsh said in June at his first news conference as chairman.
He said in 2025 that he believed advances in AI would be a reason for the Fed to cut interest rates because it would help the economy grow quickly without increasing inflation.
Venture capitalist Marc Andreessen speaks at the TechCrunch Disrupt conference in San Francisco, September 13, 2016.
San Francisco Chronicle/hearst Newspapers via Getty Images | Hearst Newspapers | Getty Images
Warsh has been personal friends with Andreessen for decades. Warsh also led venture capital investments for investor Stanley Druckenmiller after his stint at the Fed, which ended in 2011. In doing so, he expanded his network in Silicon Valley – and his assets.
Andreessen made a fortune developing some of the Internet’s first web browsers and is now one of the most vocal proponents of AI. “We turned sand into minds,” Andreessen told podcaster Joe Rogan in May, referring to the silicon that is the physical basis for AI chips.
Jones, the economist, largely shares Andreessen’s West Coast optimism. Jones recently took a leave of absence from Stanford University to join the Anthropic Institute, part of leading AI company Anthropic. Jones’ academic work recently has focused on the impact of AI on economic growth, making him an important voice in Warsh’s efforts to bring his point of view to the attention of the Fed.
Jones pointed out in a recent article that U.S. per capita growth has consistently averaged 2% throughout much of U.S. history. “Nevertheless, economic growth could accelerate significantly as AI eventually automates nearly all of the economy’s vulnerabilities, with growth rates potentially exceeding 5 percent per year,” he wrote.
The paper analyzes what Jones identifies as weak links – aspects of the economy that will be difficult to automate – and also takes into account lower potential growth rates. But Jones writes bluntly that AI “will likely be the most transformative technology of modern times.”
Sharma, who became CEO of in February MicrosoftMicrosoft’s Xbox gaming company has made strong statements in support of AI. But as the head of an operational company, she made the rare decision not to prioritize AI. Even though Microsoft is integrating AI into all aspects of its products, Sharma has chosen not to make it the focus of Xbox, she said in a recent Bloomberg interview.
“Our console players are not thrilled with the experience,” said Sharma.
But that doesn’t make her a skeptic. “Now do I believe in AI? Absolutely,” she said.
The three task force members did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Fed declined to comment.
Warsh could face skeptics on the Federal Open Market Committee, which has the power to set interest rates. FOMC members discussed whether AI can improve productivity at their June meeting, minutes of the discussion released this week show. Some FOMC participants believed in the idea that productivity would rise, the minutes said.
And yet they weren’t completely sold. “However, these participants noted that there remains significant uncertainty regarding the timing and magnitude of potential productivity gains, which are expected to lag behind the ongoing increase in on-demand AI adoption.”
Meanwhile, the rush to adopt AI by U.S. tech companies is beginning to fuel the economy. New York Fed President John Williams said Thursday he is concerned about increases in electricity and semiconductor prices due to the AI boom.
Prices have risen like a “hockey stick,” with some components doubling and tripling, Williams said. AI is a “demand shock,” he said, adding it is unclear whether supply will match what is needed to keep inflation low.
The Fed meets again at the end of July and is expected to keep interest rates stable. The task forces are expected to complete their work by the end of the year.
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https://www.cnbc.com/2026/07/09/fed-task-force-member-chairman-kevin-warsh-ai.html
