Global financial markets experienced severe turbulence following the publication of a controversial report by Citrini Research, which paints a bleak scenario of artificial intelligence's impact on the economy. Predictions of mass unemployment among office workers and bankruptcies of SaaS software sector companies triggered a sell-off of tech giant stocks. Simultaneously, Pope Leo XIV has officially banned priests from writing sermons using ChatGPT, emphasizing the ethical boundaries of the new technology.
Panic on Wall Street
A fictional report by Citrini Research triggered real declines in tech company stocks due to fears of deflation and unemployment.
Mass Layoffs at C3.ai
The company will reduce headcount by over one-quarter as part of a deep restructuring under a new CEO.
Vatican Bans AI
Pope Leo XIV has banned priests from using tools like ChatGPT for creating pastoral content.
SaaS Sector Problems
Companies like Workday are hitting multi-year lows due to uncertain sales forecasts in the era of dominant AI agents.
The atmosphere on Wall Street deteriorated drastically due to a confluence of several factors, the most significant being the fictional scenario "The 2028 Global Intelligence Crisis" by Citrini Research. This document, although speculative, provoked investors to revise their optimistic assumptions about the technology sector. The vision of a world where AI agents replace tens of millions of knowledge workers led to real declines in the valuations of companies like Workday and C3.ai. Investors fear that process automation will lower software providers' profits instead of increasing them, prompting capital to flee towards more stable assets. The situation was further exacerbated by reports of drastic restructurings in the industry. Company C3.ai announced a 26% reduction in headcount, which the new CEO argues is necessary to adapt to the changing market. In Australia, trade unions are demanding urgent talks with WiseTech regarding layoff plans triggered by AI implementation. Even companies with solid fundamentals, like Workday, recorded their lowest share prices in five years after issuing cautious sales forecasts. In the private credit market, concerns are growing about the stability of portfolios dominated by software firms, which may lose financial liquidity due to technological disruption. Artificial intelligence, much like the steam engine or electricity in past centuries, evokes extreme emotions: from techno-utopian dreams of universal prosperity to fears of the complete degradation of the human role in production processes.Amid the financial fever, moral authorities and religious institutions have also spoken out. Pope Leo XIV issued a categorical ban on the use of ChatGPT by clergy for preparing prayers and homilies. The Holy See argues that artificial intelligence cannot replace human spiritual discernment. Meanwhile, in Japan, an opposite trend is noticeable – local temples are experimenting with robots designed to perform funeral rituals to address staffing shortages among monks. The contrast between the Vatican's approach and innovations from Asia reveals deep cultural divides in the reception of AI. „La prière n'est pas un algorithme à calculer, mais un cri du cœur adressé au Créateur, qu'aucune machine ne pourra jamais imiter.” (Prayer is not an algorithm to be calculated, but a cry of the heart addressed to the Creator, which no machine will ever be able to imitate.) — Pope Leo XIVDespite the alarmist mood, some experts are calling for calm. They point out that AI may ultimately help lower inflation through a radical increase in work efficiency. For example, Santander bank CEO Ana Botín estimates the benefits from implementing artificial intelligence at a level of one billion euros annually. The White House, in turn, is pressuring technology companies to bear some of the costs associated with the growing demand for electricity, which is a new infrastructural challenge for the USA. 26% — of employees that company C3.ai intends to lay off