A new AI open letter, "We Must Act Now," published July 13 and signed by more than 200 economists and AI technologists, shifts focus from ethical and safety risks to economic transformation and "large-scale job displacement." At fewer than 100 words, the letter warns of AI's risks but provides limited guidance for concrete action. Its signatories include 16 Nobel Laureates, top AI researchers from MIT, Harvard, Stanford and the University of Toronto, and industry figures such as Anthropic co-founder Jack Clark, former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, OpenAI CFO Sarah Friar and venture capitalist Vinod Khosla. Tamarah Usher, senior director of AI innovation at Slalom, said the notable signers signal that AI concerns have moved from "Will this happen?" to "We don't have the institutions to handle it when it does," advising businesses not to wait for policy to catch up. Niloy Ray, co-chair of employment law firm Littler's AI practice, said the letter may be cited by supporters as providing validity to their positions. The letter states that "AI may become radically more powerful over the next 10 years" and "could drive an unprecedented transformation of our economy, larger than the Industrial Revolution, but unfolding over a vastly shorter time frame." Its main call to action is for "economists, policymakers and technology leaders" to "act now to understand the economics of transformative AI" and build "incentives, guardrails and institutions." Usher noted