AI and the Decoupling of Jobs from Economic Growth

What if working fewer hours coincided with stronger economic growth?New labor data reveals a puzzling trend: employment is being revised downward even as the economy keeps growing. Professor Harvey explores whether AI is the variable that can help us understand that divergence.The conversation moves beyond the familiar narrative of job displacement to examine a structural shift in how AI functions. As systems evolve from tools into agents, they can organize tasks, execute workflows, and contribute to their own development.As structured, repeatable white-collar work becomes increasingly automated, productivity gains may allow output to grow with fewer hours worked per person. The result may be a reallocation of labor rather than a simple reduction, with potential implications for economic growth and fiscal capacity.