7000-Word 'Doomsday Report' Triggers AI Panic, Dow Plunges 800 Points, Software and Private Credit Sectors Hit Hard

A 7,000-word hypothetical "June 2028 Scenario" report from research firm Citrini Research went viral on Wall Street on February 24, stoking deep market fears over AI’s impact on white-collar jobs and the credit system. The report introduces the "global cognitive crisis" concept, warning AI could spark a "race to the bottom" for knowledge-based roles—disrupting industries and credit chains tied to white-collar productivity. U.S. stocks tumbled sharply Monday: the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 822 points (-1.7%), the S&P 500 fell 1%, and the Nasdaq Composite slid 1.1%. The software sector bore the brunt—Datadog, CrowdStrike, and Zscaler each lost over 9%, while IBM plunged 13% (its worst single-day drop since 2000). Report-named firms like American Express, KKR, and Blackstone also saw steep declines. Private credit and banking shares came under pressure: Blue Owl slid 3.4%, and Apollo Global Management dropped 5.6%. UBS noted the real risk is the "speed of disruption"—not inevitability—including whether impacts escalate within 12 months or trigger contract protection clause breaches. Defensive assets rallied: the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield fell to 4.026% (a new low since late November 2023), gold jumped 2.9% to $5,204.70/oz, and silver surged 5.2% to $86.52/oz. Market participants flagged the outsized emotional reaction, given tech stocks’ heavy weighting and sensitivity to AI outlooks. Some firms warned against overreacting to the single scenario analysis—but AI-driven business model reevaluations and asset rotation trends continue apace.