The week the AI scare turned real and America realized maybe it isn’t ready for what’s coming

For months, the threat of artificial intelligence (AI) replacing human workers has hovered over the American economy like a distant storm. But this week, the storm made landfall, as viral doomsday essays seemed to become reality.

AI executive Matt Shumer made a stir early in the month with an essay posted to X.com (and adapted for Fortune) that forcefully argued for white-collar workers to be afraid. He likened the moment to February 2020, with the pandemic rapidly approaching U.S. shores and a widely unprepared American public.