Øystein Olsen: Economic perspectives

Annual address by Mr Øystein Olsen, Governor of Norges Bank (Central Bank of Norway), to the Supervisory Council of Norges Bank and invited guests, Oslo, 14 February 2019.

The views expressed in this speech are those of the speaker and not the view of the BIS.

Good morning, Kristoffer! It is now 6:00 am on Friday, 15 February 2030. The temperature is 7 degrees and it's raining. You have been through four sleep cycles and can get up without violating the terms and conditions of your health insurance. The health module recommends cereal with oat milk for breakfast. I have bought oat milk, which was delivered at 4:00 am. 

News of relevance to you:

The new government quarter opens today - your space is finally ready.

Your investments in Green Equities have risen by 20 percent, on news of the major trade and environmental technology agreement concluded between the United States and China.

The trading platform Nett sustained a hacker attack last night. Customer data were stolen, and customers are leaving the platform. I managed to withdraw 8 000 of the 67 000 kroner you had uploaded to the platform before all accounts were frozen. The rest of your money may be lost.

In yesterday's Annual Address, the Governor of Norges Bank announced that the next generation of central bank digital currency will be managed by artificial intelligence for a trial period.

Have a nice day.

Introduction

From a not too distant future, let's return to the present day. We can already see the contours of the digital tools used by Kristoffer and his digital assistant. Technology is advancing at a rapid pace. Every day we rely on new technology as we tap our payment cards on the reader. We also have to adapt to new developments on many other fronts. A shift in production methods and consumption is underway in response to global warming. The world economy is marked by densely interwoven trade flows, but also by uncertainty about the path ahead.

International economic cooperation is creaking

Throughout history, technological innovation and increased trade in goods and services have been important sources of growth and development.