Veteran Wall Street strategist Ed Yardeni is pushing back against the market panic sparked by a viral research note warning that artificial intelligence could trigger a self-reinforcing economic collapse.

On Monday, Citrini Research published a provocative thought experiment titled "The 2028 Global Intelligence Crisis."

The piece, written as a fictional macro memo from the future, outlined a scenario where AI-driven productivity turns from market tailwind into economic wrecking ball.

The market listened.

On Monday, software stocks, tracked by the iShares Tech-Expanded Software Sector ETF (NYSE:IGV), plummeted nearly 5%.

Shares in private-equity giants, seen as the collateral damage of the software destruction, including Ares Management Corp. (NYSE:ARES), Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) and KKR Inc. (NYSE:KKR) sunk between 6% and 9%.

What Citrini Research Said About AI

Citrini's core thesis is deceptively simple: what if AI bullishness keeps being right… and that's exactly the problem?

In its hypothetical scenario, AI agents rapidly replace white-collar workers.

Companies cut payroll, funnel savings into more AI compute, improve margins, and then cut more workers.

The result is what the firm calls a "negative feedback loop with no natural brake."

Productivity surges. Corporate profits initially expand. Equity markets rally.

But household income, especially among high-earning professionals who drive discretionary spending, weakens.

Consumer demand softens. Software companies face pricing pressure as AI lowers barriers to building in-house tools. Private ...