Speculative AI Report Triggers US Stock Selloff

A speculative report outlining a potential AI-driven economic crisis triggered a sharp selloff in US technology and financial stocks on Monday, exacerbating concerns over rapid automation and its impact on white-collar jobs and corporate revenues.

The report, titled "The 2028 Global Intelligence Crisis" and published by New York-based Citrini Research on Sunday, presents a fictional scenario set in June 2028. It envisions widespread unemployment reaching 10.2 percent in the United States, more than double the current 4.3 percent rate, alongside a 38 percent decline in the S&P 500 from its October 2026 peak. The narrative describes a feedback loop where advancing AI agents displace workers, reduce consumer spending, and force companies to reinvest savings into further automation, leading to margin pressures in sectors reliant on transaction fees and third-party services. Businesses in payments, software, and IT consulting face obsolescence as AI tools enable internal replication of features, potentially unraveling private credit markets and even threatening the $13 trillion US mortgage sector. Citrini emphasizes the piece as a thought exercise to highlight "left tail risks," not...