Our AI Future: From Abundance to Apocalypse

Our AI Future: From Abundance to Apocalypse

From If/Then by Stanford GSB

June 10, 2026 · 45 min · Season 3 · Episode 53

About this episode

Chad Jones discusses potential economic futures influenced by AI, ranging from abundance to catastrophic scenarios.

Chad Jones, a professor of economics at Stanford Graduate School of Business, recently published a paper, “AI and Our Economic Future.” Using more than 100 years of economic data, he modelled several potential AI-infused economic futures we may experience. These include the good (abundance, we never work again), the not-so-bad (business more or less as usual), and the ugly (a superintelligence that turns on us, among other catastrophic options). Cheery stuff, Jones acknowledges, but essential to face. “I think the ability for an AI to do everything on a computer that the best software engineer can do, that seems like it’s either here now or will be here within five years easily,” Jones says. “Hacking the electric grid, hacking the financial system, these kinds of scenarios are things that we definitely have to worry about. The good news is, I think if we get through that, the ability of AI to transform the economy for good, it is really there and present. And, that would be a very great and bright future.” Related Content: Chad Jones faculty profile What’s the Price Tag for Preventing an AI Apocalypse? At What Point Do We Decide AI’s Risks Outweigh Its Promise? Chapters: 00:00:00…

People in this episode

Guest: Chad Jones

Topics covered

  • AI
  • economic futures
  • automation
  • superintelligence
  • innovation
  • growth

Keywords

  • AI
  • economics
  • future
  • automation
  • superintelligence
  • growth models
  • innovation

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Stanford Graduate School of Business

Books & works: AI and Our Economic Future

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