IMF chief warns AI risks may outweigh benefits without safeguards as global leaders gather to weigh technology's dangers and opportunities

IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva warned Friday that AI risks could eclipse its opportunities unless governments and industry establish adequate safeguards and an ethical framework. Speaking at the IMF and World Bank annual meetings in Bangkok, she said society is "not there yet" on the ethical foundations the technology demands. Anthropic co-founder Jack Clark went further, calling it "Formula One at night without brakes," and warning that negligence could deliver "some form of chaos."

Georgieva said the right approach combines industry self-regulation with contributions from the US, China and India as the key AI powers, alongside nations involved in the technology supply chain.

Clark noted that the toys he buys for his children are more regulated than the "literal superintelligence" he works on daily, and warned decisions cannot be left to companies alone.

US Deputy Treasury Secretary Erin Brown pushed back at a separate press conference, arguing the IMF devotes too much attention to AI risks at the expense of the technology's economic opportunities.