Ex-DeepMind Exec Warns of AI-Driven Economic Divide | City A.M.

A growing chorus of voices from within the artificial intelligence industry is warning of potentially destabilizing economic consequences as the technology rapidly advances, with a former senior Google DeepMind executive adding to the concerns. Dex Hunter-Torricke, who previously led communications at the AI giant and has also worked for both Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk, argues that governments are ill-prepared for the scale of disruption AI is poised to unleash on the global economy.

Hunter-Torricke, in a recently published essay titled “Another Future is Possible,” contends that the current trajectory risks creating a stark divide between those who control AI and those displaced by it. He stated, “It’s crystal clear to me now: there is no plan.” He recently left DeepMind to join the UK Treasury as a non-executive board member and is launching a London-based non-profit, the Center for Tomorrow, which will not accept funding from large technology firms.

The core of Hunter-Torricke’s warning centers on the potential for widespread job displacement. He cites estimates from the International Monetary Fund suggesting that approximately 60 percent of jobs in advanced economies are susceptible to disruption from AI. However, he believes the actual impact could be even greater, given the accelerating pace of AI development. “The productivity gains will be real,” he wrote, “But there is no automatic mechanism that translates them into broadly shared prosperity.”

He foresees a scenario where corporate profits surge as labor costs decline, while the share of income accruing to workers diminishes. This could lead to a future, he argues, where a small, highly skilled elite benefits from AI-enhanced capabilities, while a significant portion of the population faces diminished economic prospects. “By mid-century, on this trajectory, we arrive at something that goes beyond inequality,” he wrote, adding that he did not make the prediction lightly.

Growing Warnings from Inside the Industry

Hunter-Torricke’s concerns are not isolated. A recent wave of resignations from prominent AI researchers, accompanied by public warnings, underscores the growing anxiety within the field. An AI safety researcher at Anthropic resigned last week, stating in a public letter that “the world is in peril” from the technology. Similarly, a former OpenAI employee also stepped down, voicing concerns about the firm’s direction.

Dario Amodei, chief executive of Anthropic, recently published a lengthy 19,000-word essay arguing that humanity is entering a period that will “test who we are as a species.” He predicts that highly capable AI systems, potentially surpassing human expertise, could emerge within just a few years. While optimistic that the risks can be managed, Amodei cautioned that the economic benefits of AI could create a disincentive to slow progress, even in the face of mounting concerns.

These warnings echo those of academics like Michael Woolridge, a professor of AI at Oxford University, who has cautioned that inadequate safety testing could lead to a damaging loss of public trust in the industry, akin to the Hindenburg disaster. The sentiment is also being felt by political leaders, who are increasingly focused on ensuring their nations do not fall behind in the AI race.

George Osborne, the former UK Chancellor now leading OpenAI’s ‘for countries’ program, recently urged leaders at a summit in Delhi to avoid “fomo” – the fear of missing out – regarding AI. He warned that countries failing to adopt the technology risk becoming “a weaker nation, a poorer nation.”

Hunter-Torricke proposes a series of interventions to mitigate the potential negative consequences of AI. These include stronger support for workers displaced by automation, taxation of AI-driven corporate gains, and increased international cooperation to ensure the economic benefits of AI are shared more broadly. He has also suggested considering policies such as a universal basic income and large-scale cross-border investment programs, reminiscent of the Marshall Plan.

Having spent 15 years in Silicon Valley, Hunter-Torricke said he felt compelled to speak publicly about his concerns. “What I had seen in those rooms, over those years, now made it impossible to stay,” he told The Times, adding that he had previously “only told half the story.”

The UK, despite its strong AI talent base – highlighted by Nvidia’s chief executive Jensen Huang as possessing a “Goldilocks” momentum due to its unique alignment of talent and startup activity – still lacks the sovereign compute infrastructure needed to compete at the highest level. Huang, speaking at London Tech Week in June 2025, warned that praise and promise are “completely useless” without urgent investment in national computing capacity. Prime Minister Keir Starmer recently announced a £1 billion plan to boost the UK’s AI computing power twentyfold, but the adequacy of this investment remains to be seen.