Compiled from reports by investingLive, Newsquawk and TokenPost. See the original articles linked below.
Mary Daly, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, said on October 30, 2026 that artificial intelligence matters for how the central bank thinks about policy in both the near and the medium term. investingLive and Newsquawk reported that she tied AI to both of the Fed's mandates, price stability and employment.
What was said
According to TokenPost, Daly spoke at the San Francisco Fed's "AI and the Economy" conference. TokenPost reported that she described AI as relevant because it can affect productivity, growth and the labor market. investingLive described her comments as brief and said they carried no clear hawkish or dovish message. TokenPost likewise said she did not indicate a rate decision or path, and did not put a figure on AI's overall effect on inflation.
TokenPost reported that Daly stressed the timing of any productivity gains. It said she set a possible five-to-10-year horizon for AI's productivity effects against the roughly 12 months that policymakers usually weigh. In the outlet's words, she said policy decisions require thinking about "today". She also said, according to TokenPost, that any downward pressure on prices would depend on AI actually delivering productivity gains.
TokenPost added that Daly said in October that growing demand for AI chips could add to inflation and make supply shocks last longer before productivity benefits arrive. It also noted that in February she wrote that most macroeconomic studies showed limited evidence so far of a significant AI effect on productivity. She suggested looking at disaggregated data and speaking with businesses, and compared the situation to the technology boom of the 1990s.
Analysis from the outlets
Newsquawk said Daly is not a voter on the rate-setting committee this year, which it said limits the immediate signal, though it noted she has a record of pointing to where the committee's thinking is heading. The headline of its report labels her a 2027 voter. It described two possible channels: if AI is viewed as disinflationary through productivity, that could support tolerance for easier policy, while a view of AI as a risk of labor displacement could bring the employment mandate to the fore. Newsquawk said such ideas typically take several quarters to move from speeches into minutes and projections, if they do at all.
investingLive wrote that traders would want to know how Daly weighs AI's effect on inflation against employment risks, and whether that alters the expected path for rates.
Other Fed officials
investingLive reported that Richmond Fed President Thomas Barkin earlier described the economy as resilient, with spending holding up despite flat incomes. It said he named AI investment as a source of supply-chain pressure and extra demand that monetary policy can address, and that he favors a gradual approach to rates that depends on incoming data. TokenPost noted that Fed Governor Michael Barr has said AI investment is adding near-term price pressure while productivity gains remain a longer-term possibility.
Sources
- Fed's Daly: AI matters for near- and medium-term policy (investingLive, 2026-10-30)
- Fed's Daly (2027 voter) says AI really matters for how they think about policy in near and medium term and AI matters to price stability and employment mandates (Newsquawk, 2026-10-30)
- Daly Says AI's Economic Effects Matter to Fed Policy Analysis (TokenPost, 2026-10-30)
This article was compiled with AI assistance from the reports listed above and reviewed by GMA before publishing.