Will AI Be an Economic Blessing or Curse? History May Offer Clues

Backers of AI predict a productivity leap that will generate wealth and improve living standards. Consultancy McKinsey in June estimated it could add between $14 trillion and $22 trillion of value annually - that upper figure being roughly the current size of the U.S economy.

Some techno-optimists go further, suggesting that, along with robots, AI is the technology that will finally free humanity from humdrum tasks and launch us into lives of more creativity and leisure.

Yet worries abound about its impact on livelihoods, including its potential to destroy jobs in all kinds of sectors - witness the strike in July by Hollywood actors who fear being made redundant by their AI-generated doubles.