The Federal Reserve board announced Wednesday that the U.S. will cut interest rates by a quarter point. The central bank sets its benchmark lending rate to between 3.75 percent and 4 percent, the lowest level since 2022 and the dawn of the Biden-era inflation crisis.

In remarks following the Fed’s meeting, Chairman Jerome Powell indicated that it is unclear whether the board will further lower interest rates in December, citing clashing views within the governing body. 

“There were strongly differing views about how to proceed in December,” said Powell.

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Powell also contrasted the dot-com bubble of the late 1990s with the current AI boom, noting that AI companies have real earnings. “In the 1990s and dot-com, these were ideas rather than companies,” Powell stated. “There was a clear bubble there.”

Powell also stated that the Fed is “very carefully” watching layoffs resulting from the adoption of artificial intelligence by companies. The tech giant Amazon announced this week that it will lay off 14,000 employees in preparation for AI adoption.

Powell also addressed the shutdown in his remarks. “The shutdown of the federal government will weigh on economic activity while it persists, but these effects should reverse when the shutdown ends,” Powell said.