FACING UNCERTAINTY: IN RI VISIT, BOSTON FED PRESIDENT HEARS FROM THOSE CONFRONTING IT, REDUCING IT

The following information was released by the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston:

By Maureen Heydt

Uncertainty is high in the current economic environment, and during a trip to Rhode Island on Tuesday, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston President Susan M. Collins met with a range of people facing it and trying to reduce it.

The uncertainty surrounding artificial intelligence was a key topic for leaders of some of the states largest companies. Many were excited about AIs potential, while others discussed navigating workplace adoption.

Collins was also part of a discussion with labor leaders about how elevated uncertainty in variables like inflation and rising healthcare costs is affecting the lives and jobs of their members.

And she spoke with entrepreneurs at a food services incubator who are taking on the unknown in a risk-filled environment in the hopes of building resilient small businesses.

Collins said the Fed wants to know how companies and business owners plan and react when it gets tough to tell whats ahead.

Were doing a lot of thinking about how firms are meeting strong demand with fewer workers, and without hiring, and really connecting that to a couple of things (including) all the uncertainty thats out there, she said.