“Artificial Intelligence has no values. It has no social conscience. It has no sense of justice. But societies do,” was the message sent by the Governor of the Bank of Greece, Yiannis Stournaras, speaking today at the 4th “Quo Vadis AI?” Conference, titled “Artificial Intelligence, Labor Market and Central Banks”. Yiannis Stournaras emphasized the need to develop a coherent national plan for the country’s adaptation to the new realities created by artificial intelligence.
He also noted that “the great challenge of our time is not whether machines will become more intelligent. The real challenge is whether we will prove wise enough to direct this power for the benefit of humanity”.
Stournaras: “Artificial Intelligence can become humanity’s greatest progress accelerator”
As he argued, “Artificial Intelligence can become the greatest progress accelerator humanity has ever known. Or the greatest multiplier of inequalities and concentration of economic and technological power, if the transition is not accompanied by strong institutions and appropriate policies. The outcome is not predetermined. It will depend on the decisions we make today, in time – as governments, as central banks, as businesses, but mainly as societies. Because technology by itself has no destination. We give it direction. And this is perhaps the most important economic, political and ethical challenge of our time.”
“The new reality raises a critical question: will Artificial Intelligence function as a force enhancing human creativity or as a mechanism for widening inequalities and concentrating power?” he characteristically mentioned.
Referring to the impacts that AI will have on Greece, the Bank of Greece Governor noted that the country has high-level human resources, a strong academic community and a new generation of scientists with valuable digital skills. The country also has a significant pool of highly specialized scientists and professionals active abroad. Strengthening talent repatriation trends and effectively utilizing this human capital can constitute a strong advantage for the successful adaptation of the Greek economy to the era of Artificial Intelligence.
Coherent national plan for the age of Artificial Intelligence
However, utilizing these capabilities, as he emphasized, requires a coherent national plan. It requires investments in education, research, digital infrastructure and connecting universities with businesses. It also requires a stable and reliable institutional environment that will allow businesses to invest with a long-term horizon. And above all, it requires a culture of adaptation and lifelong learning.
“In a world where knowledge becomes obsolete at rapid rates, competitiveness will not depend only on labor costs or investment levels. It will also depend on the speed with which societies can learn, adapt and innovate. This means that education can no longer be considered a process completed at the beginning of professional life. Lifelong learning becomes basic economic infrastructure,” Mr. Stournaras noted.
Finally, regarding the impacts that artificial intelligence will have on employment, the Bank of Greece Governor mentioned that the critical issue is not only how many jobs will be created or lost. The critical issue is who will be able to adapt faster to the new reality.
Read his complete speech:
1. Artificial Intelligence as a turning point of the global economy
It is a particular joy and honor to be with you today, at a time when the global economy stands before a turning point. Artificial Intelligence has now emerged as one of the key factors shaping contemporary challenges for economies, the labor market and central banks.
Artificial Intelligence is not a theoretical possibility or a technological promise of the future. It is already present and transforming the framework within which economic and monetary policy are exercised.
For the first time in decades, we face a technological transition of such scale, with the potential to simultaneously affect productivity, employment structure, geopolitical balances, income distribution and the way institutions operate.
2. Uncertainty, productivity and macroeconomic impacts
As European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde points out, we are now in a transition “from a world where risk could be measured and modeled to a world of genuine uncertainty”.[1] This observation aptly captures the new reality created by geopolitical instability, global economic fragmentation and the rapid spread of Artificial Intelligence.
Artificial Intelligence is not simply another technological innovation. According to the ECB President, it is a “general purpose technology,” similar to electricity and the internet, which has the potential to transform productivity, labor markets and the entirety of economic activity.
This poses a new challenge for central banks and economic policy institutions. The challenge is not only to understand the impacts of Artificial Intelligence on growth and inflation, but also to ensure that technological progress translates into broader social and economic prosperity.
A recent study by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York emphasizes that Artificial Intelligence changes not only productivity and growth, but also the very transmission mechanism of monetary policy, affecting inflation, market expectations and financial stability. At the same time, it highlights the risk of AI stagflation, during the transitional period of adopting new technologies, where low productivity, inflationary pressures and financial instability coexist.[2]
The conclusion is clear: the age of Artificial Intelligence does not change the core mission of central banks, but makes it necessary to adapt analytical tools and policy frameworks to an economic environment of increased complexity and rapid changes.
3. Technological revolution and transformation of work
The scope and complexity of these impacts make it clear that the relevant discussion transcends the technological field and acquires deep economic, social and political dimensions.
History teaches us that every great technological revolution simultaneously creates opportunities and imbalances. The steam engine, electricity, the internet – all great innovations – increased productivity and improved living standards in the long term. However, none distributed their benefits automatically or uniformly.
Artificial Intelligence is likely to constitute the most significant technological change of the 21st century precisely because it is not limited to mechanical automation. It extends to knowledge, analysis, decision-making, even content creation. The impact of Artificial Intelligence is not limited to manual labor or automating repetitive tasks. Scientific and professional sectors undergo significant transformations both in content and in the way work is performed.
The new reality raises a critical question: will Artificial Intelligence function as a force enhancing human creativity or as a mechanism for widening inequalities and concentrating power?
The answer is not technological. It is institutional.
The discussion becomes even more significant at a time when many European economies face intense demographic pressures due to population aging and shrinking workforce. In this sense, Artificial Intelligence can function not only as a factor of productivity increase, but also as a mechanism for partially offsetting the impacts of demographic transition.
The economic dimension of Artificial Intelligence is already visible. The world’s largest economies have entered a new global competition for data, computing power, energy infrastructure and highly specialized human capital. Investments in Artificial Intelligence systems are increasing exponentially. At the same time, governments now face technology not only as a development tool, but also as a strategic factor of national power.
The global economy is entering a period where productivity will increasingly depend on the ability of economies to effectively integrate Artificial Intelligence into their productive structures.
This has particular significance for Europe. Europe has strong scientific potential, significant universities, quality institutions and a high level of human capital. However, it continues to lag behind the United States and China in cutting-edge technology investments, large-scale innovation ecosystems and the speed of commercial exploitation of research.
As the ECB President has pointed out, Artificial Intelligence can constitute a powerful productivity catalyst for the European economy, provided that Europe invests coordinately in digital infrastructure, skills and innovation.[3] This observation is critical. Because Artificial Intelligence is not a technology that automatically produces growth. Its economic impacts depend on the quality of institutions, the speed of business adaptation, the adequacy of skills and the ability of states to create an environment of trust and stability.
4. The role of central banks
And this is precisely where the role of central banks comes in.
For decades, central banks have had as their basic mission price stability and ensuring financial stability. Today, they are called to operate in an environment where technological changes transform the structure of the economy faster than ever.
Artificial Intelligence already affects critical parameters of macroeconomic analysis.
First, it affects productivity.
If Artificial Intelligence leads to a significant rise in productivity, then the potential output of economies may increase. This means that economies will be able to grow faster without creating corresponding inflationary pressures.
From this perspective, Artificial Intelligence can also function as a structural force reducing production costs, enhancing real income and gradually changing supply conditions in the economy. This dynamic could, in the medium term, acquire deflationary characteristics through increased productivity and improved efficiency.
However, the transition will not be linear. These impacts may manifest with time delays and with different intensity between sectors and economies. In the short term, the integration of new technologies is often accompanied by high investment costs, restructuring of business models and changes in the labor market. These changes can cause temporary imbalances, both in prices and employment.
In an important OECD study, the way Artificial Intelligence may affect international productivity divergences is examined.[4] As noted, although Artificial Intelligence has the potential to function as a significant productivity growth lever in the next decade, its benefits are distributed unequally between countries. Low and middle-income economies face significant adoption barriers – such as inadequate digital infrastructure, skills gaps, limited access to financing and incomplete regulatory frameworks – which may outweigh the potential benefits of technology. Consequently, Artificial Intelligence does not automatically lead to productivity convergence, but can either strengthen or widen global inequalities.
Second, Artificial Intelligence affects the structure of the labor market.
Certain professions will be transformed. Others will be limited and new professions will be created. These impacts become particularly evident for young people entering the labor market today. The automation of certain entry-level tasks may temporarily limit traditional pathways of professional integration and experience acquisition, enhancing the importance of developing skills that function complementarily to Artificial Intelligence and are not replaced by it.
The experience of previous technological revolutions shows that total employment does not necessarily decrease in the long term. However, transitions can be socially painful if workers do not have access to education, retraining and new employment opportunities.[5]
The critical issue therefore is not only how many jobs will be created or lost. The critical issue is who will be able to adapt faster to the new reality.
Third, Artificial Intelligence creates new risks for financial stability.
Artificial intelligence is already rapidly reshaping all aspects of banking activity – from risk management and lending to investments, customer service and fraud detection. Machine learning applications and advanced algorithms enable financial institutions to exploit vast volumes of data with speed and accuracy that until recently were unthinkable.
This development creates significant benefits: improved credit risk assessment, more effective supervisory compliance, faster customer service and enhanced fraud detection capability. At the same time, however, it introduces new forms of risk related to algorithm opacity, the possibility of bias, dependence on complex prediction models and increased cybersecurity requirements.
Financial markets already use artificial intelligence systems and automated models for trading, risk assessment and portfolio management. This development can significantly improve market efficiency and operational speed. However, when a large number of institutions rely on similar models and common data sources, market behavior homogeneity may be enhanced and, by extension, systemic vulnerability during periods of uncertainty or intense volatility.
At the same time, the increasing concentration of data, computing power and digital infrastructure in a limited number of large technology companies creates new forms of dependence and systemic exposure for the financial system.
Central banks and supervisory authorities must therefore examine not only traditional financial risks, but also those arising from digital concentration, cybersecurity, technological infrastructure resilience and algorithmic system transparency.
The need to manage these new risks has already led the European Union (EU) to create the world’s first comprehensive regulatory framework for artificial intelligence through the AI Act. The new Regulation seeks to ensure that innovation will develop in a way compatible with transparency, safety and protection of fundamental rights.
Of particular importance is the fact that artificial intelligence systems used for creditworthiness assessment and citizens’ access to financial products are characterized as high-risk applications and subject to increased compliance, accountability and human oversight requirements.
For banks and supervisory authorities, this means that the use of algorithmic systems cannot constitute an opaque decision-making tool. Every critical decision must be adequately documented, auditable and free from systemic biases or unfair discrimination.
The very operation of central banks is being transformed.
As now recognized by central banks themselves, Artificial Intelligence is not simply another digital tool. It reshapes the way organizations manage data, organize processes, ensure governance and strengthen security mechanisms. In this new environment, the real competitive advantage will not only be access to technology, but the ability for responsible, safe and reliable utilization of it.
Artificial Intelligence offers pioneering capabilities in economic analysis, macroeconomic forecasting, systemic risk identification and financial system supervision. Already, applications of internal digital assistants are being developed that can support information analysis, knowledge management and faster processing of complex data. Their effectiveness, however, depends directly on data quality and maintaining strong human oversight.
However, increased dependence on algorithmic models also creates new questions. How transparent are decisions made through artificial intelligence systems? Who bears responsibility when a system fails? How is it ensured that data and algorithms do not incorporate biases? And mainly: how is human judgment maintained at the center of economic policy?
Economic policy is not a purely technocratic process. It incorporates assessments, priorities, compromises and choices that have social and political consequences. Artificial Intelligence can significantly improve the quality of economic forecasting and decision-making through the ability to process vast amounts of data in real time. However, it cannot replace democratic accountability and human responsibility. This is perhaps the most important institutional lesson of the new era.
Technology must function as a tool for enhancing human judgment – not as a mechanism for replacing it.
5. Institutions, trust and the European choice
The transition to the age of Artificial Intelligence will also affect the international economic system. Economies that acquire technological advantage will strengthen their productivity, innovation and geopolitical influence. Conversely, economies that delay risk being trapped in low growth, technological dependence and human capital drain.
This challenge is particularly important for smaller economies like Greece. Greece has high-level human resources, a strong academic community and a new generation of scientists with valuable digital skills. The country also has a significant pool of highly specialized scientists and professionals active abroad. Strengthening talent repatriation trends and effectively utilizing this human capital can constitute a strong advantage for the successful adaptation of the Greek economy to the age of Artificial Intelligence.
However, utilizing these capabilities requires a coherent national plan. It requires investments in education, research, digital infrastructure and connecting universities with businesses. It also requires a stable and reliable institutional environment that will allow businesses to invest with a long-term horizon. And above all, it requires a culture of adaptation and lifelong learning.
In a world where knowledge becomes obsolete at rapid rates, competitiveness will not depend only on labor costs or investment levels. It will also depend on the speed with which societies can learn, adapt and innovate. This means that education can no longer be considered a process completed at the beginning of professional life. Lifelong learning becomes basic economic infrastructure.
6. Artificial Intelligence: The great institutional challenge of our time
The dialogue around Artificial Intelligence concerns, in essence, the model of economy and society we choose to build. Especially today, when it evolves from a data processing tool to a digital conversationalist that can adapt its behavior to human emotions, needs and preferences, our choices acquire even greater importance.
