OpenAI says AI may reshape not just jobs, but how govenment …

OpenAI has raised questions about whether traditional economic measures such as wages and income will remain enough to understand prosperity in the age of artificial intelligence. In a recent announcement, the OpenAI Foundation committed an initial $250 million to grants, partnerships and direct work aimed at building "secure and abundant economic futures." As part of the initiative, the organization said it wants to better understand how AI is changing economies and who benefits from the value it creates. The foundation also argued that new ways of measuring economic well-being may be needed as AI becomes more widely used.In the document, OpenAI said one of the key questions is not just what AI can do, but where the benefits created by the technology end up.“A central question is not only what AI can do, but where that value accrues: to workers through wages, to firms through margins, to consumers through lower prices and better services, to governments through the tax base, or to capital owners through rents,” the foundation said.The organization noted that existing economic statistics may not fully capture the effects of AI.“For example, if AI generates value as digital goods rather than higher wages, income statistics won't capture it,” the document said.OpenAI also said that if a smaller share of economic gains goes to workers, commonly used indicators such as GDP could become less useful in measuring people's welfare.The foundation said future measurement systems should look beyond how much people earn.“We need measurement that tracks what people can actually do and access, not just what they earn,” OpenAI said.According to the document, many of the systems used today to measure economic activity were designed for an earlier era and may not be suited to tracking AI-driven changes.As part of the $250 million initiative, the OpenAI Foundation plans to support research, forecasting tools and new infrastructure aimed at understanding AI's effects on jobs, wages, businesses and broader economic systems.The organization said it expects to announce its first initiatives later this year.