Fed’s Warsh to convene November 16 forum on AI’s inflation and jobs tradeoffs

On November 16, 2026, Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh will lead a public forum in San Francisco on AI’s effects on inflation, productivity and employment, according to Reuters and Decrypt. The discussion comes as Fed officials weigh two competing possibilities: technology that eventually lowers costs and an investment boom that is already putting upward pressure on prices.

The start time and timezone, precise venue and official watch link remain unverified for this preview. The reported three-hour duration describes the whole forum, not a separately identified keynote.

Three panels, with Warsh at both ends

The San Francisco Fed’s published agenda calls for three speaker panels, with comments from Warsh before and after them, Reuters reported. Its stated purpose is to gather input from a wide range of stakeholders about technology’s implications for the economy and labor market. Decrypt says technology executives, economists and employers will attend.

The forum sits within a wider review Warsh began after taking office. It is the only scheduled public event among five task forces he established to examine issues important to the Fed. He appointed venture capitalist Marc Andreessen to chair the task force focused on AI; Reuters describes all its members as coming from the technology world.

Lower production costs—or higher construction costs

Warsh’s optimistic case starts with productivity: businesses could produce more goods and services at lower cost. That could ease inflation and give the Fed room to keep borrowing costs lower than otherwise. But Reuters reports that his view has become more nuanced since he arrived at the Fed in May, reflecting uncertainty about when those gains will arrive.

The competing concern is more immediate. Data centers require electricity, chips, construction materials and skilled workers. Competition for those resources can push prices higher before businesses receive the hoped-for efficiency benefits. Fed Governor Lisa Cook warned in September that AI investment was adding inflationary pressure and delaying a return to the central bank’s 2% inflation target, according to Decrypt.

Richmond Fed President Tom Barkin wants the forum to give both interpretations a serious hearing. His request is for contrasting arguments, rather than a discussion confined to the technology’s strongest advocates.

I’m hopeful we’ll hear the strongest possible evangelist’s view, as well as the strongest possible other view

Tom Barkin, Richmond Fed president, speaking to Reuters

Jobs complicate the productivity promise

Employment presents another possible mismatch between long-term gains and short-term costs. Cook has warned that AI could cause at least a temporary increase in unemployment, and possibly a higher underlying level of joblessness. Governor Michael Barr warned on November 12 of potentially serious short-term disruptions, depending on deployment speed and whether AI remains broadly available and affordable to businesses of different sizes.

Barkin also points to a different risk: an economy supported by extraordinary AI spending could suffer if the investment disappoints and companies pull back. For now, Reuters reports, that spending is supporting growth, stock-market gains and household and business spending. His concern is about what happens if that support weakens, not simply whether AI can perform more tasks.

The task force and Warsh will not have the final say over how recommendations enter Fed policy; that remains with the central bank’s policymakers. Nor is Monday’s forum the interest-rate decision scheduled for December 9. Its immediate role is to gather input on the economic tradeoffs those officials must weigh.