RBA Assistant Governor Warns AI Boom Could Trigger Disorderly Asset Repricing If Returns Disappoint

Reserve Bank of Australia Assistant Governor Hunter delivered a cautious assessment of artificial intelligence's economic impact, warning that the rapid buildup in AI investment carries meaningful financial stability risks. Speaking on November 8, Hunter said there is limited evidence that AI has materially boosted aggregate productivity or had a large effect on employment in advanced economies, despite the scale of capital being committed to the technology.

Hunter flagged that if returns on AI investment fall short of expectations, some asset prices could face sharp and possibly disorderly adjustments, a scenario that poses a direct threat to financial stability. That warning lands against a backdrop of surging corporate AI spending: an Atlanta Fed survey found US firms using AI increased their spending on the technology by 96.1% between 2025 and 2026, reaching an average of $1,024 per employee.

On inflation, Hunter said AI-driven demand will put upward pressure on prices in the near term given current supply constraints, but that supply capacity will catch up over time, leaving AI's long-run effect on inflation broadly neutral. The remarks come after a selloff in AI-related equities on Thursday raised fresh questions about the durability of the investment boom, with Airbnb's third-quarter results offering a counterpoint by showing AI-driven product expansion accelerating both growth and margin gains.