“Reaction to the Citrini Research memo concerning artificial intelligence captures a real anxiety, but one built on a familiar analytical error ("What's in the Viral Post That Spooked Markets" by Jack Pitcher, Business & Finance, Feb. 25). The doomsday scenario tells only half the story of creative destruction.
Economist Joseph Schumpeter's critical insight was that technological revolutions simultaneously destroy existing structures and create new ones. The Citrini memo imagines DoorDash losing market share but never asks what new enterprise captures the value left behind. It envisions software companies bleeding out but ignores the entirely new categories of business that emerge when building software costs nearly nothing.
We have seen this before. In 2008 Blockbuster's CEO told the Motley Fool that "neither RedBox nor Netflix are even on the radar screen in terms of competition." Less than two years later, Blockbuster filed for bankruptcy. Netflix is now worth hundreds of billions of dollars. It didn't just replace Blockbuster; it created an entirely new entertainment economy.
Research on technological revolutions since the Industrial Revolution shows a consistent pattern: The disruption is real but transitional, and what follows is always larger than what came before. The AI transition will produce casualties. It will also produce a larger, more dynamic economy if we have the imagination to see past half-told stories about the end of the world.
Brian R. Miller
Hartsdale, N.Y.” [1]
If this AI-generated growth will produce social havoc as growth from movement of industry to China did, then what?
AI-generated growth, similar to the industrial shift to China, risks severe social disruption by concentrating wealth, devaluing traditional labor, and causing widespread job displacement. Potential outcomes include increased regulatory crackdowns, urgent demands for redistribution like universal basic income, deepened geopolitical conflict, and a possible, severe AI bubble bursting.
If such "social havoc" occurs, the likely scenarios include:
Significant Labor Market Upheaval: AI is expected to hammer entry-level positions, potentially compounding high youth unemployment rates, particularly in regions like China. This shift could lead to a massive, rapid, and widespread devaluation of traditional human labor.
Government Intervention & Control: Governments are likely to increase censorship and surveillance, with some adopting the "Chinese model" of using AI to curate information and maintain social stability. Policy responses may include stricter regulation of AI applications and increased state control of technology.
Economic Inequality & Redistribution Demands: While AI might boost productivity, it risks accelerating a concentration of wealth at the top. This will intensify pressures for redistribution, such as universal basic income or other social handouts.
Severe Financial & Geopolitical Risk: An AI bubble, fueled by massive, opaque investment, could burst, causing a global economic crash. Furthermore, intense competition for AI dominance, particularly between the U.S. and China, may lead to further fragmentation of global tech standards.
Environmental Strain: The rapid expansion of AI infrastructure is expected to put immense pressure on energy systems, with data centers likely to increase reliance on coal power, creating, in some cases, environmental, not just economic, havoc.
1. We Will See Growth Through AI Disruption. Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y.. 05 Mar 2026: A14.
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