"Official Rumor Denial": White House economist claims Citrini's AI risk report is purely "science fiction"

U.S. White House economists dismiss recent AI risk reports stirring the tech stock market as “science fiction” and say the report violates basic economic principles.

On Tuesday, February 24, acting chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers Pierre Yared said after the National Association for Business Economics (NABE) meeting in Washington that Citrini Research’s recent report is “an interesting piece of science fiction.”

Yared stated:

The Citrini report is an interesting science fiction story — and I like science fiction. But I think, if you look at it carefully and think about it seriously, you’ll find it violates some fundamental principles of economics.

Pierre Yared said that any innovation will be accompanied by “some volatility and chaos,” which is human nature. He said he is more focused on “research findings” rather than “doomsday scenarios in science fiction.”

According to Wall Street Insights, Citrini Research envisions a world in 2028 where rapid development of machine intelligence greatly boosts productivity, but also causes a surplus of human labor, leading to unemployment, collapsing consumer spending, and dragging down stock indices like the S&P.

On Monday, influenced by Citrini Research’s negative report, tech stocks were hit hard, with the Nasdaq Composite dropping over 1% at one point. The Nasdaq recovered on Tuesday, closing up 1.04%.

(Nasdaq 15-minute chart)

Trump Administration Pushes AI-Driven Strategy

Yared stated at the NABE meeting that, “Overall, the government’s stance on AI is to invest fully,” and is committed to ensuring the U.S. maintains a leading position internationally in this field.

Since taking office last year, Trump has abolished policies set by his predecessor Biden that required safety and transparency standards for AI developers. Yared said:

Of course, we don’t want excessive government regulation to hinder the most incredible technological developments of this era. But we must ensure that all this development occurs in a minimally disruptive way.

Yared revealed that President Trump “has a full understanding of this issue,” and that within the U.S. government, there have been “extensive discussions” on how to ensure large-scale AI development “does not cause excessive harm to local communities.”

He said he does not want to preemptively comment on specific plans, but his words indicate that the government is carefully weighing the balance between technological advancement and employment stability.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Yellen has also repeatedly emphasized that history shows increased investment often correlates with job growth, and expects the AI investment wave to bring similar results.

Yellen and other senior officials compare the current AI investment boom to the internet and personal computer revolutions of the 1990s, when technological waves supported a golden era of strong growth, low unemployment, and moderate inflation.

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