Blackrock CEO Larry Fink tells the World Economic Forum (WEF) that developed countries with shrinking populations will be better prepared for the social problems that come from “substituting humans for machines.” Speaking at the WEF’s Special Meeting on Global Collaboration, Growth and Energy Development during a panel on “Investing Amid Global Fracture,” Fink said that there would be a divide between the “middle class developing countries that have a foundation and education” and developing countries that have booming populations but little education. https://twitter.com/TimHinchliffe/status/1785042264860848489?embedable=true With that divide, Fink argued that developed countries with shrinking populations would be the “big winners” as far as quality of life is concerned because they will have all the technologies to boost productivity and elevate their living standards. “I can argue in the developed countries the big winners are countries that have shrinking populations […] These countries will rapidly develop robotics and AI and technology […] The social problems that one will have in substituting humans for machines is going to be far easier in those countries that have declining populations”
BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, World Economic Forum, April 2024 “I can argue in the developed countries the big winners are countries that have shrinking populations,” said Fink. “We always used to think shrinking population is a cause for negative growth, but in my conversations with the leadership of these large, developed countries that have xenophobic immigration policies, they don’t allow anybody to come in, shrinking demographics — these countries will rapidly develop robotics and AI and technology. “And if the promise, and it’s going to happen, if the promise of all of that transforms productivity, which most of us think it will, we’ll be able to elevate the standard of living of countries, the standard of living of individuals, even with shrinking populations.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PoRVYFHNc6k&embedable=true For Fink, fewer people means a better quality of life in the developed world thanks to automation. For growing populations in the developing world, particularly in Africa, education will be key, according to the BlackRock CEO. “The paradigm of negative population growth is going to be changing, and the social problems that one will have in substituting humans for machines is going to be far easier in those countries that have declining populations,” said Fink. “For those countries that have rising populations, the answer will be education — for those countries that do not have a foundation of rule of law or education, that’s where the divide’s going to get more and more extreme,” he added. The WEF’s Special Meeting on Global Collaboration, Growth and Energy Development took place from April 27-29 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Tim Hinchliffe, Editor, The Sociable Blackrock CEO Larry Fink tells the World Economic Forum (WEF) that developed countries with shrinking populations will be better prepared for the social problems that come from “substituting humans for machines.” Speaking at the WEF’s Special Meeting on Global Collaboration, Growth and Energy Development during a panel on “ Investing Amid Global Fracture ,” Fink said that there would be a divide between the “middle class developing countries that have a foundation and education” and developing countries that have booming populations but little education. Special Meeting on Global Collaboration, Growth and Energy Development a panel Investing Amid Global Fracture https://twitter.com/TimHinchliffe/status/1785042264860848489?embedable=true https://twitter.com/TimHinchliffe/status/1785042264860848489?embedable=true With that divide, Fink argued that developed countries with shrinking populations would be the “big winners” as far as quality of life is concerned because they will have all the technologies to boost productivity and elevate their living standards. “I can argue in the developed countries the big winners are countries that have shrinking populations […] These countries will rapidly develop robotics and AI and technology […] The social problems that one will have in substituting humans for machines is going to be far easier in those countries that have declining populations” BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, World Economic Forum, April 2024 “I can argue in the developed countries the big winners are countries that have shrinking populations […] These countries will rapidly develop robotics and AI and technology […] The social problems that one will have in substituting humans for machines is going to be far easier in those countries that have declining populations” “I can argue in the developed countries the big winners are countries that have shrinking populations […] These countries will rapidly develop robotics and AI and technology […] The social problems that one will have in substituting humans for machines is going to be far easier in those countries that have declining populations” “I can argue in the developed countries the big winners are countries that have shrinking populations […] These countries will rapidly develop robotics and AI and technology […] The social problems that one will have in substituting humans for machines is going to be far easier in those countries that have declining populations” BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, World Economic Forum, April 2024 “ I can argue in the developed countries the big winners are countries that have shrinking populations ,” said Fink. I can argue in the developed countries the big winners are countries that have shrinking populations I can argue in the developed countries the big winners are countries that have shrinking populations “ We always used to think shrinking population is a cause for negative growth, but in my conversations with the leadership of these large, developed countries that have xenophobic immigration policies, they don’t allow anybody to come in, shrinking demographics — these countries will rapidly develop robotics and AI and technology . We always used to think shrinking population is a cause for negative growth, but in my conversations with the leadership of these large, developed countries that have xenophobic immigration policies, they don’t allow anybody to come in, shrinking demographics — these countries will rapidly develop robotics and AI and technology We always used to think shrinking population is a cause for negative growth, but in my conversations with the leadership of these large, developed countries that have xenophobic immigration policies, they don’t allow anybody to come in, shrinking demographics — these countries will rapidly develop robotics and AI and technology “ And if the promise, and it’s going to happen, if the promise of all of that transforms productivity, which most of us think it will, we’ll be able to elevate the standard of living of countries, the standard of living of individuals , even with shrinking populations .” And if the promise, and it’s going to happen, if the promise of all of that transforms productivity, which most of us think it will, we’ll be able to elevate the standard of living of countries, the standard of living of individuals And if the promise, and it’s going to happen, if the promise of all of that transforms productivity, which most of us think it will, we’ll be able to elevate the standard of living of countries, the standard of living of individuals even with shrinking populations even with shrinking populations https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PoRVYFHNc6k&embedable=true https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PoRVYFHNc6k&embedable=true For Fink, fewer people means a better quality of life in the developed world thanks to automation. For growing populations in the developing world, particularly in Africa, education will be key, according to the BlackRock CEO. “ The paradigm of negative population growth is going to be changing, and the social problems that one will have in substituting humans for machines is going to be far easier in those countries that have declining populations ,” said Fink. The paradigm of negative population growth is going to be changing, and the social problems that one will have in substituting humans for machines is going to be far easier in those countries that have declining populations The paradigm of negative population growth is going to be changing, and the social problems that one will have in substituting humans for machines is going to be far easier in those countries that have declining populations “ For those countries that have rising populations, the answer will be education — for those countries that do not have a foundation of rule of law or education, that’s where the divide’s going to get more and more extreme ,” he added. For those countries that have rising populations, the answer will be education — for those countries that do not have a foundation of rule of law or education, that’s where the divide’s going to get more and more extreme For those countries that have rising populations, the answer will be education — for those countries that do not have a foundation of rule of law or education, that’s where the divide’s going to get more and more extreme The WEF’s Special Meeting on Global Collaboration, Growth and Energy Development took place from April 27-29 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Special Meeting on Global Collaboration, Growth and Energy Development Tim Hinchliffe, Editor, The Sociable Tim Hinchliffe, Editor, The Sociable Tim Hinchliffe , Editor, The Sociable Tim Hinchliffe

BlackRock's Larry Fink on Social Challenges in Human-Machine Substitution

About Author

Comments

TOPICS

THIS ARTICLE WAS FEATURED IN

Related Stories

Untitled Story

Tony Blair Wants Your Data—For the Greater Good, of Course

Natural Intelligence: and That Was How I Met Your Mother—AI

First Text, Then Music - Now, AI Comes for 3D

History Could Teach Us a Lot About Today’s Algorithms

The HackerNoon Newsletter: Killing the 7-Day Week (9/27/2025)

Tony Blair Wants Your Data—For the Greater Good, of Course

Natural Intelligence: and That Was How I Met Your Mother—AI

First Text, Then Music - Now, AI Comes for 3D

History Could Teach Us a Lot About Today’s Algorithms

The HackerNoon Newsletter: Killing the 7-Day Week (9/27/2025)

Light-Mode

Classic

Newspaper

Dark-Mode

Neon Noir

Minty

HN StartUps