Meta executive says falling birth rates make AI gains more important

In short: A senior Meta executive said that as birth rates fall and workforces shrink, better productivity from AI will become more important.

What's going on

Alex Schultz, a top executive at Meta, told the Financial Times Future of AI summit that many countries are heading toward a “population collapse.” By that, he meant a future where fewer babies are born, so there are fewer working age people later on.

Schultz argued that this demographic shift could create a basic problem, there may be fewer workers to do the same amount of work, or to support a growing number of older people. In that situation, he said, productivity gains matter more. Productivity is a simple idea, it means getting more done in the same amount of time, like serving more customers per hour or producing more goods per day.

He pointed to AI as one way to help close that gap. AI tools can sometimes take over routine tasks, speed up office work, and help people find information faster. You can think of it like adding a helpful assistant to many jobs, even if the number of employees does not increase.

What to watch

If more business and government leaders accept this “fewer workers” argument, there could be stronger pressure to adopt AI tools across offices, hospitals, and public services. At the same time, expect more debate about what should and should not be automated, and how the benefits are shared between companies, workers, and the public.

Source: Financial Times