US stock markets have experienced further AI-related jitters after a viral and explicitly speculative warning about the impact of artificial intelligence on the world's largest economy.
The report, published on Substack by Citrini Research, a little-known US firm, presents a "scenario, not a prediction" in which autonomous AI agents upend the US economy, from jobs to mortgages. It envisages unemployment rising above 10% by June 2028 and an "Occupy Silicon Valley" movement outside leading AI companies.
The scenario describes a chain reaction triggered by widespread use of AI agents that would gut software companies and spread to private credit and mortgages, creating an unchecked downward spiral. Despite its speculative nature, the post unnerved investors, with the S&P falling more than 1% on Monday and software shares hitting their lowest level since April's "liberation day" tariff announcement.
Companies specifically named in the report, including Uber, American Express, Mastercard and DoorDash, all lost between 4% and 6%. Some of the decline is likely attributable to the latest tariffs, but the report has clearly added to market anxiety.
Neil Wilson, an analyst at Saxo Capital Markets, described the publication as "real doomsday porn stuff" that is "always lapped up by readers and market commentators and the press". He added: "I don't think it's necessarily going to play out as they see it, but it's a bit of a wake-up call that the economy already no longer resembles the one just a few years ago."
