Can A.I. Be Pro-Worker?

In recent weeks, remarkable things have been happening on Wall Street. As the major A.I. developers have been rolling out new versions of their models, and new work tools to sit atop them, investors have been knocking down the value of many big and profitable companies over fears that their businesses and employees will be disrupted, or displaced entirely. Hundreds of billions of dollars of value have been wiped out. Enterprise-software companies, like Salesforce and Workday; cybersecurity companies, like CrowdStrike; and wealth managers, such as Charles Schwab and Raymond James—they’ve all been hit. Early last week, selling extended to the broader market after Citrini Research, a little-known financial-research firm, posted a lengthy “thought exercise” about the impact of A.I., in which, by 2028, Citrini claims, soaring unemployment among white-collar workers will crimp consumer spending, and this will plunge the economy into a financial crisis and a recession.