Wall Street Has AI Psychosis | WIRED
Summary
The article discusses the recent market turmoil triggered by a report predicting significant job losses due to AI, highlighting Wall Street's anxiety over AI's economic impact.
Why It Matters
This article sheds light on the growing concern among investors regarding AI's potential to disrupt the job market and economy. It reflects the broader societal unease about technological advancements and their implications for employment and financial stability.
Key Takeaways
- A recent report predicted AI could lead to over 10% unemployment by 2028, causing market instability.
- Wall Street's reactions to AI developments illustrate a broader anxiety about technology's impact on the economy.
- Critics argue that the report's claims about AI's immediate economic effects are exaggerated and lack substantial evidence.
Save StorySave this storySave StorySave this storyBefore last week the name Alap Shah didn’t ring a bell for many people. The 45-year-old financial analyst and tech entrepreneur had spent the past two decades working in relative obscurity. Then last weekend he coauthored a blog with the research firm Citrini titled “The 2028 Global Intelligence Crisis.” It was a “thought exercise” about the impacts of artificial intelligence, and it predicted that in June of that year, AI would jack up unemployment past 10 percent and force the Dow down, down, down. Writing in a confident, Nostradamic tone—as if auditioning for starring roles in the next Michael Lewis book—the authors painted a picture of a flywheel in reverse: AI agents take jobs from workers, people spend less, and struggling corporations conduct layoffs on top of layoffs.There wasn’t much in it that hadn’t been previously heard, or speculated about. Tech leaders like Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei have already estimated that half the entry level white collar jobs will soon be gone, and earlier this year, Anthropic’s release of new agentic tools spurred a Wall Street selloff. Nonetheless the report hit with the force of the blizzard blowing through lower Manhattan. When the closing chimes sounded on the New York Stock Exchange, the Dow was down 800 points. The name Alap Shah was now ringing bells.The achievement is less impressive than it seems. Wall Street, like the rest of us, is in a persistent state of anxiety about AI, ...
