Bank of Greece Governor Yannis Stournaras has called for the immediate drafting of a comprehensive national strategy to prepare the country’s economy and labor market for the disruptive impacts of artificial intelligence, warning that improper deployment risks triggering severe social inequality.
Speaking at the 4th "Quo Vadis AI?" conference in Athens, themed "Artificial Intelligence, Labor Market and Central Banks," Mr. Stournaras characterized generative AI as the most significant technological paradigm shift of the 21st century.
Drawing parallels to a recent Federal Reserve Bank of New York study, he noted that AI is actively altering the transmission mechanisms of monetary policy by introducing volatile fluctuations to productivity, inflation, and financial stability.
"Artificial intelligence has no values, no social conscience, and no sense of justice, but societies do," Mr. Stournaras said.
He cautioned that without robust regulatory guardrails, the automation of cognitive tasks could turn the technology into a powerful multiplier of wealth concentration rather than an accelerator of broader economic progress.
Mr. Stournaras emphasized that Greece possesses a unique competitive advantage to weather the transition, citing its high-quality domestic human capital and a vast global network of highly specialized expatriate professionals.
However, he stressed that capitalizating on this digital talent pool requires aggressive structural investments.
To prevent systemic job displacement and secure long-term competitiveness, Mr. Stournaras urged the state to prioritize structural funding for digital infrastructure, foster tighter university-to-business pipelines, and reshape the public education system around a culture of continuous learning.