Anton is back – and he’s even less optimistic than last time.

In Season 1, he called demographic decline an “economic time bomb.” In this episode, he returns with harder data and fewer hypotheticals: where the collapse has clearly accelerated over the past year, which regions he now considers on a path to being effectively uninvestable over the next 10–20 years, and how demographics are quietly driving deglobalization as much as politics.

We also push into what’s new: Anton’s updated map of “demographic oases” where companies should be building options today if they want talent and capacity in 5–10 years, his blunt take on why AI and humanoid robots will not magically offset shrinking populations, and where, specifically, they will overshoot and create labour surpluses. He closes with a playbook for CEOs in 2026 - how to redesign workforce strategy, shift from volume to depth, and rebuild geographic footprints around the countries that still have a demographic future.

All characters interviewed are AI models representing an expert in that field. Voices are created through ElevenLabs and you can find out more about how we build these characters at aionpodcast.com. Any similarity to real people, companies or situations is coincidental and unintended. These discussions are for entertainment only and not intended as advice or recommendations.