Asha Sharma, Xbox's CEO and a former Microsoft Core AI leader, has been named co-leader of the Federal Reserve's new Productivity and Jobs task force. The group will study how AI and other technologies affect business models, productivity and the labor market. Sharma's tenure at Xbox has included both organizational changes—such as layoffs and studio closures—and product moves like removing Copilot, which drew praise. The Fed says the task force will help update its analytical tools and policy approaches amid rapid economic and technological change.
Xbox CEO Asha Sharma Named Co-Lead of Federal Reserve Task Force on AI, Productivity and Jobs
Asha Sharma Joins The Federal Reserve As Advisor, AI, Unsplash
Asha Sharma, the chief executive officer of Xbox, has been appointed co-leader of the Federal Reserve's new Productivity and Jobs task force. The group will examine how artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies are reshaping businesses, productivity and the labor market.
Sharma took the helm of Xbox after replacing Phil Spencer and previously worked in Microsoft's Core AI group, giving her experience at the intersection of technology and product strategy. In her new role at the Fed task force, she will serve alongside senior figures from the private and academic sectors, including representatives affiliated with Andreessen Horowitz and Stanford economist Charles I. Jones.
Xbox CEO Asha Sharma Reacts to Q3 Revenue Drop, Google Commons
Since becoming Xbox CEO, Sharma has moved to refocus the brand. Those moves included organizational changes that involved layoffs and studio closures, which drew controversy, and product decisions such as the removal of Copilot from Xbox earlier this year — a change that received praise from some corners of the industry.
The Productivity and Jobs task force is charged with assessing how technologies like AI are altering business models, changing firm-level behavior and affecting employment trends over the long term. Its work will inform how the Federal Reserve updates analytical tools and policy approaches to better address a rapidly changing economy.
"The U.S. economy has changed significantly over the last generation, and never more so than right now. Each task force will carefully consider whether policymakers' means and methods, analytical tools and policy approaches can be improved upon. I am honored that the best minds from a range of disciplines have agreed to work with us to sharpen our performance as an institution. The goal is straightforward: to ensure the Fed is best positioned to achieve our objectives in this consequential time."
The announcement, published in a statement from Kevin Warsh, framed the initiative as part of the Fed's broader effort to preserve price stability and maximum employment while adapting its methods to technological and economic change. The task force's findings could shape how policymakers respond to AI-driven shifts in productivity and labor markets.
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