If you haven’t read this yet, you need to.
https://www.citriniresearch.com/p/2028gic?
It is a viral report by Citrini Research that lays out a scenario (not a prediction) of what happens to the economy and industries globally in the next two years thanks to AI. It blew my mind and was the catalyst for the market dip Monday.
Here’s my take.
We live in a culture whose assumptions are so pervasive that we rarely even notice them. They shape our relationship to time, to achievement, to responsibility, and to what we call success. They are embedded in our institutions and internalized in our identities.
One of those assumptions is that speed is synonymous with competence. In business life, especially, the ability to move quickly has become a signal of intelligence and strength. Markets reward responsiveness. “Stagnate and die!”
Against that backdrop, this research note moved through Wall Street this week, and markets reacted with extraordinary speed. Technology stocks fell sharply as artificial intelligence was reframed as a destabilizing force capable of compressing profit cycles, disrupting business models, and reshuffling competitive advantage faster than many companies and people can adapt.
The report questions whether the current wave of AI development is accelerating disruption at a pace that outstrips our capacity to absorb it.
For decades, we have optimized our systems for velocity. Faster communication. Faster execution. Faster capital flows. Faster! More! Now!
We built an economic culture in which advantage accrues to those who can process information most rapidly. Now we are confronting a development that accelerates intelligence itself. Artificial intelligence. This report outlines what it really looks like for AI to outpace us.
When the pace of change begins to exceed our human capacity to metabolize it, anxiety follows.
I call it the AI Anxiety Gap: the widening space between technological acceleration and our ability to integrate it wisely.
And we must integrate it in many ways: operationally, emotionally and culturally.
So when the market reacted on Monday what we were seeing is the same culture that spent decades cultivating acceleration as a competitive advantage is now confronting its consequences.
What to do?
The instinct will be to move faster, tighten oversight, and demand adoption. That instinct is understandable. It is also not going to work in the moment we are in
This is where surrender becomes necessary.
Surrender the illusion that control comes from velocity. Surrender the assumption that capability appears the moment a tool is introduced. Surrender the idea that leadership is proven through constant reaction.
Closing the AI Anxiety Gap requires integration. Integration takes time because it involves judgment, learning, and trust. People need clarity about where human decision-making still matters. They need space to experiment without fear of being left behind. They need systems that reward outcomes rather than motion.
The anxiety of AI comes from what happens when intelligence accelerates faster than our ability to assign meaning to it. When expectations rise faster than capability. When speed becomes the primary signal of competence and judgment is pushed aside.
What we saw in the market this week was a culture built on acceleration confronting the limits of acceleration itself.
Leadership in this moment is about steadiness. The steadiness to slow the conversation even as the technology advances. The steadiness to anchor decisions in results rather than headlines. The steadiness to build organizations that can absorb change without losing coherence.
Surrender the illusion of control.
Choose steadiness over reactivity.
That is how adaptation becomes sustainable.
Elsewhere in Culture
This last week on the CEO Daily Brief we talked about:
- The Leadership Consequences of Living in This Day https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ceo-daily-brief-with-dr-jessica-kriegel/id1725350421?i=1000750993240
Headlines escalate and disappear within hours. Public trust is fragmenting. Attention is fractured. When institutional credibility feels unstable, performance fragments too. As a leader, you cannot control the chaos outside. You can create coherence inside. Repetition, clarity, and disciplined focus on what is important rather than urgent are now core leadership skills.
- The ROI on Happiness https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ceo-daily-brief-with-dr-jessica-kriegel/id1725350421?i=1000751172878
New psychological research reinforces something deeply human: happiness is rooted in feeling loved and connected. Loneliness is not a flaw. It is a signal. The counterintuitive move is to give love first. Curiosity, active listening, and genuine interest in others reshape beliefs and ultimately drive performance. Culture is not about making people happy. It is about creating experiences that shape belief and behavior.
- Are You a Commodity? https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ceo-daily-brief-with-dr-jessica-kriegel/id1725350421?i=1000751365904
If your value is tied to repetitive execution, AI is coming for your job. If your value is tied to innovation, interpretation, and judgment, you are far more durable. The future belongs to leaders who can steer AI, question it, and translate it. Personal brand, original thinking, and discernment are no longer optional. They are protective moats.
Listen to CEO Daily Brief with Dr. Jessica Kriegel wherever you get your podcasts.