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In this episode of AI Ascent, Dr. Jonathan Luckett unpacks a provocative thought experiment from Citrini Research — Ghost GDP and the 2028 White-Collar Crash — a fictional macro-economic simulation imagining a world where AI has become so cheap that corporations no longer need most of their office workforce. The scenario introduces "Ghost GDP": a reality where official economic indicators show growth and stability, while underneath, displaced workers stop spending, companies cut further, and the gap between corporate profit and everyday financial survival grows impossible to ignore. Dr. Luckett breaks down why this hits differently from the usual AI-and-jobs conversation, who is most at risk, and what it would take to interrupt the spiral before fiction becomes forecast. It's a conversation about technology, economics, and one much bigger question — who is the economy actually for?
By Dr. Jonathan Luckett, D. Sc.In this episode of AI Ascent, Dr. Jonathan Luckett unpacks a provocative thought experiment from Citrini Research — Ghost GDP and the 2028 White-Collar Crash — a fictional macro-economic simulation imagining a world where AI has become so cheap that corporations no longer need most of their office workforce. The scenario introduces "Ghost GDP": a reality where official economic indicators show growth and stability, while underneath, displaced workers stop spending, companies cut further, and the gap between corporate profit and everyday financial survival grows impossible to ignore. Dr. Luckett breaks down why this hits differently from the usual AI-and-jobs conversation, who is most at risk, and what it would take to interrupt the spiral before fiction becomes forecast. It's a conversation about technology, economics, and one much bigger question — who is the economy actually for?