--- title: "The list of the Federal Reserve's reform \"think tank\" is revealed: a gathering of big names from Wall Street and academia, with the entire AI group being \"optimists.\"" type: "News" locale: "en" url: "https://longbridge.com/en/news/292256072.md" description: "Federal Reserve Chairman Waller announced the list of five external task forces, with members including Wall Street giants, business leaders, and academic authorities. Each group will examine the operations of the Federal Reserve around topics such as communication mechanisms, data governance, balance sheet management, productivity and employment, and inflation assessment frameworks. The AI group has attracted attention due to its members' consistent stance, mostly being \"optimists,\" aiming to enhance the Federal Reserve's performance and achieve policy goals" datetime: "2026-07-10T01:08:05.000Z" locales: - [zh-CN](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/news/292256072.md) - [en](https://longbridge.com/en/news/292256072.md) - [zh-HK](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/news/292256072.md) --- # The list of the Federal Reserve's reform "think tank" is revealed: a gathering of big names from Wall Street and academia, with the entire AI group being "optimists." According to the Zhitong Finance APP, Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh officially announced the members of five external task forces on Thursday. This group, which brings together Wall Street giants, business leaders, academic authorities, and former central bank officials, will conduct a comprehensive review of the Federal Reserve's operational mechanisms around core issues such as communication mechanisms, data governance, balance sheet management, productivity and employment, and inflation assessment frameworks. Among them, the task force focusing on the economic impact of artificial intelligence (AI) is particularly noteworthy due to the high level of consensus among its members. Warsh stated, "I am honored that top scholars from different disciplines can collaborate with us to enhance the Federal Reserve's performance. The goal is very clear: to ensure that the Federal Reserve can achieve its policy objectives in the best possible state during this critical period." As part of Warsh's commitment to a comprehensive assessment of monetary policy, these task forces will broadly explore various areas, including inflation trends and the impact of AI, and "start from fundamental principles, raise sharp questions, examine current practices, and evaluate alternatives." According to the Federal Reserve's statement, each task force will "operate independently, adhering to the principles of fact-based analysis, honest feedback, and rigorous verification," and will ultimately report their research findings to the Federal Open Market Committee. Federal Reserve staff will provide logistical and professional support to all task forces. **Specific Composition of the Five Task Forces** The announced list covers a diverse range of ideologies and backgrounds. The specific groups and members are as follows: Communication Strategy Group: Peter Fisher (Practice Professor at the Foster School of Business, University of Washington), Arminio Fraga (Founder of Gávea Investimentos, former President of the Central Bank of Brazil), Mervyn King (Former Governor of the Bank of England). Balance Sheet Policy Group: Karen Dynan (Economist at Harvard University), Raghuram Rajan (Former Governor of the Reserve Bank of India), Jeremy Stein (Former Federal Reserve Governor). Data Group: Doug McMillon (Former CEO of Walmart (WMT.US)), Raj Chetty (Economist at Harvard University), Kevin Murphy (Economist at the University of Chicago). Productivity and Employment Group: Marc Andreessen (Venture Capitalist), Charles Jones (Economist at Stanford University), Asha Sharma (Executive Vice President and CEO of Xbox at Microsoft (MSFT.US)). Inflation Framework Group: Greg Mankiw (Former Chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers), William White (Canadian economist who warned of the 2008 financial crisis), Thomas Sargent (Economist at New York University and Nobel Laureate). **AI Task Force: Like-minded Optimists** Among the aforementioned groups, the Productivity and Employment Group, responsible for "assessing the impact of new general technologies, including AI, on the economy and providing information for Federal Reserve policy judgments," shows a high level of consensus among its members—three external advisors firmly believe that AI will be a transformative technology that brings profound growth and productivity impacts, aligning with Warsh's long-standing views. Warsh has been a long-time advocate for the transformative potential of AI. In his first press conference after taking office in June, he stated that the adoption of AI "may be the most significant change in the economy, business, and households since I became an adult." He stated in 2025 that he believes advancements in AI will provide a reason for the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates, as it can help the economy grow rapidly without triggering inflation. The members of this working group were personally selected by Walsh. Group member and venture capitalist Marc Andreessen has been a long-time personal friend of Walsh. After leaving the Federal Reserve in 2011, Walsh managed venture capital for investor Stanley Druckenmiller, which not only broadened his network in Silicon Valley but also enriched his personal wealth. Andreessen accumulated wealth by developing web browsers in his early years and is now one of the most fervent advocates for AI. He recently described silicon-based AI chips in a podcast as "we turned sand into thought." Economist Charles Jones also harbors strong optimism about Silicon Valley. He recently took a leave of absence from Stanford University to join a research institute under top AI company Anthropic. In a recent academic paper, Jones pointed out that the long-term growth rate per capita in the U.S. has remained around 2%, but "if AI ultimately automates almost all weak links in the economy, economic growth could significantly accelerate, with annual growth rates expected to exceed 5%." He bluntly stated that AI "is likely to become the most transformative technology of modern times." Another member, Xbox CEO Asha Sharma, displayed a more pragmatic optimism. Although she stated that she "absolutely believes in AI," as a business leader, she rarely chose to prioritize AI features on the Xbox gaming console, reasoning that "our console players are not excited about that kind of experience." However, this does not mean she has doubts. **Internal Doubts and Concerns About Demand Shock** Although Walsh intends to introduce external wisdom through the working group to promote a shift in the Federal Reserve's viewpoint, skepticism and caution still exist within the Federal Open Market Committee, which truly holds the voting power on interest rates. The minutes from the June meeting released this week showed that committee members discussed whether AI could enhance productivity. Some participants agreed with the view that productivity would accelerate, but they emphasized that "there remains considerable uncertainty regarding the timing and magnitude of potential productivity gains," and that such gains are expected to lag behind the current demand stimulus from AI applications. Meanwhile, the full-scale bet by American tech companies on AI has begun to bring heat to the economy. New York Fed President John Williams expressed concerns on Thursday, stating that the AI boom is driving up electricity and semiconductor prices. He described the price increases as steep as a "hockey stick," with some component prices doubling or even tripling. Williams pointed out that AI constitutes a "demand shock," and it remains unclear whether supply can grow in tandem to curb inflation. It is reported that the Federal Reserve has not set a hard deadline for the working group to complete its tasks, but Walsh previously indicated that he expects to promote relevant reforms within this year, with groups expected to complete their work by the end of the year. The Federal Reserve's next interest rate meeting is scheduled for the end of July, and the market generally expects that interest rates will remain unchanged at that time ### Related Stocks - [WMT.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/WMT.US.md) - [MSFT.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/MSFT.US.md) ## Related News & Research - [AI glasses have a new hater: Lorde](https://longbridge.com/en/news/292517914.md) - [The whirlwind 72 hours of rival AI announcements](https://longbridge.com/en/news/292338769.md) - [As AI Platforms Move Away From Unlimited, Sogni AI Launches a $20 Fair-Use Unlimited Plan on Community GPUs](https://longbridge.com/en/news/292632827.md) - [Lollipop Launches Global Streaming Platform for Short Dramas, Pioneering Human & AI Content](https://longbridge.com/en/news/292530099.md) - [Alex Karp says the biggest problem with AI is that not everyone will get that rich from it](https://longbridge.com/en/news/292519509.md)