Microsoft Xbox CEO Asha Sharma Joins Federal Reserve AI

Microsoft Xbox CEO Asha Sharma has been appointed to a newly formed task force by the US Federal Reserve to examine how artificial intelligence (AI) and other emerging technologies could reshape employment, productivity and the broader US economy. The appointment comes in the framework of a broader proposal to enhance the Fed's monetary policy framework and its institutional decision-making processes.

Asha will be a member of the Productivity and Jobs Task Force, which has been set up to evaluate the economic effects of general purpose technologies, such as AI, according to the Federal Reserve's official announcement. The task force's results will be used to guide the Fed's future monetary policy decisions in the wake of the impact of technology on the business sector, the labor market, and economic growth.

Asha will co-host the event with Stanford University professor and economist Charles I. Jones, who is currently on leave from AI startup Anthropic, and Andreessen Horowitz general partner and co-founder Marc Andreessen. The three will offer separate analysis and recommendations, using the expertise of Fed staff.

The Federal Reserve has also set up five individual task forces to work on different areas of monetary policy. The Communications, Balance Sheet Policy, Data, Productivity and Jobs, and Inflation Frameworks are among these. Each group will conduct its investigation separately, relying on evidence-based research and deliver "rigorous findings" to the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), the central bank said.

Key Highlights:

• Asha Sharma joins the US Fed's AI and Jobs Task Force
• Task force to study AI's impact on jobs and the economy
• Appointment comes amid Microsoft's Xbox restructuring

The move "is an expression of the Fed's desire to adjust to major economic changes," said Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh. "The Federal Reserve's commitment to price stability and maximum employment is unwavering. As we have resolved to do, we shall carry out our mandate with vigour," Warsh said in the official announcement.

Over the last few decades, the US economy has undergone significant change, including the swift development of transformative technologies like AI," he added.

The members of each task force will evaluate if policymakers' means and methods, analytical tools and policy approaches can be enhanced, Warsh said. The objective is simple: To make sure the Fed remains in the best place to pursue our objectives in this consequential time.

Sharma has been hired just in time for what Microsoft has announced it's fundamentally restructuring its Xbox gaming division. In the reorganization, the company stated it will cut some 3,200 jobs by the end of its fiscal 2027. Microsoft also announced that Sharma would lead two of Xbox's biggest gaming businesses, Mojang, which developed Minecraft, and mobile gaming outfit King, which is best known for Candy Crush. Both business units will be hers.

The Federal Reserve will also specifically consider the impact that technologies like AI have on labor markets, productivity growth and long-term economic performance through the Productivity and Jobs Task Force. With the use of AI in every industry gaining momentum, the central bank is seeking input from industry leaders, technology experts, as well as experts from academia and investment communities to better understand the impacts of AI on monetary policy.

As part of the broader task force initiative, the Fed is working to modernize its policy tools and analytical framework in the face of fast-moving technological and economic developments. The central bank's cross-disciplinary initiative should help it to keep its policy decisions up to date with the latest developments in the US economy.