Aino Bunge: How can AI influence the economy and monetary policy?
Speech by Ms Aino Bunge, First Deputy Governor of the Sveriges Riksbank, at the conference "Morgondagens Samhälle", Stockholm, 19 May 2026.
Slides accompanying the speech
AI is everywhere Somewhat overshadowed by geopolitical events at the moment, we can nevertheless read daily about AI and its impact on both society and the economy. AI has been a recognised field for a long time. But it was in connection with the breakthrough of generative AI and language models such as ChatGPT that developments and discussion in society really took off.
News reporting today is characterised as much by concern as by fascination. In a telling example, a song produced with the help of AI recently topped Spotify's top 50, prompting an outcry among artists. At the same time, AI-related companies are breaking one stock market record after another, while companies seen as losers in the new AI society are plummeting in value. We also see the concern that Anthropic's latest model Mythos has caused in terms of cybersecurity. The reason why so many different areas are affected by AI is that it could be regarded as a technology or invention that affects not only a specific area but our society as a whole. It is usually referred to as a general-purpose technology or GPT. Other examples are the steam engine, electricity and the internet.