AI may be doing more than driving hype—it’s helping prop up the US economy. Harvard economist and former IMF Deputy Managing Director Gita Gopinath says a surge in AI investment helped offset the economic drag from tariffs. “The positive effect that came from AI offset the negative effect that came from tariffs,” she explains, noting that the two were “almost equivalent.”

As part of a larger conversation in the latest episode of GZERO World, Gopinath cautions that the longer-term impact is still uncertain. While US productivity has been strong, there’s no clear, economy-wide evidence yet that AI is driving those gains. Adoption remains early, and the path to profits is still unclear.

The takeaway: AI may be cushioning the economy for now—but its lasting impact is still an open question.