Federal Reserve Appoints Xbox CEO to AI Policy Task Force Amid Layoffs
Quick Look
The US Federal Reserve appointed Xbox CEO Asha Sharma to its AI policy task force, a move questioned due to recent job cuts under her leadership and the broader struggles in the gaming industry regarding AI and employment.
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Why It Matters
The US Federal Reserve has formed task forces to guide monetary policies, including one focused on the economic impact of new technologies like AI. This appointment has drawn scrutiny due to recent job cuts at Xbox.
The US Federal Reserve has announced the industry leaders who will head up its various task forces guiding monetary policies. The country's central bank has made some baffling appointments to its productivity and jobs team, which will "Assess the economic impact of new general-purpose technologies, including artificial intelligence, to inform the Federal Reserve's policy judgments."
One of the advisors will be new Xbox CEO Asha Sharma. After moving to gaming from Microsoft's Core AI group, in the first few months of her tenure, she's overseen yet another price hike for the gaming hardware and most recently announced to the company that it would be cutting 3,200 jobs across its studios. Microsoft has been gutting its staff across many divisions for awhile, so this isn't a new policy she's personally brought in. But the timing here could not be worse, especially as so much of the game industry is struggling to keep people employed and to figure out a responsible way to use AI.
Open Questions
- Will Sharma's role influence Fed policy?
- How will AI impact future job markets?
- What is the Fed's strategy for AI integration?
