The column argues that a rapid embrace of artificial intelligence, colliding with an energy supply shock, could accelerate layoffs and depress growth. With the Strait of Hormuz tensions pushing up energy costs, companies have fresh incentives to swap labor for machines just as the IMF trims global growth forecasts. The author warns of a potential “doom loop”: as automation displaces well-paid white-collar roles, consumer demand weakens, revenues fall and firms double down on cost cuts—fueling further job losses and market stress. A research scenario from Citrini envisions such dynamics culminating in a stock selloff, with the U.S.—an AI front-runner—especially exposed. The prescription: governments must move quickly on “three Rs”—reskilling, reindustrialization and redistribution—to spread AI’s gains and cushion workers, or risk a future in which productivity advances accrue to a narrow elite while unemployment and inequality rise.
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