Artificial intelligence (AI) anxiety rattled US markets on Monday, as escalating concerns over the technology's disruptive potential dragged down shares of delivery, payment, and software companies, with IBM recording its largest single-day drop in a quarter-century. The sell-off originated from a pessimistic report released over the weekend by a small research firm called Citrini Research. The report outlined potential AI risks to multiple sectors of the global economy by modeling a hypothetical future scenario set in June 2028. In this imagined scenario, AI's disruptive impact leads to mass white-collar job losses, declining consumer spending, defaults on software-supported loans, and an economic contraction. The report stated its sole purpose was to model a relatively underexplored scenario, aiming to prepare readers for potential tail risks as AI makes the economy increasingly "strange." However, it explicitly emphasized that the content was merely a scenario exercise, not a prediction. Notably, Citrini specifically highlighted food delivery services and credit card companies as facing challenges. The report hypothesized that the dominance of delivery apps like DoorDash and Uber Eats would be replaced by alternatives developed through "vibe-coding," while AI agents would help users save money by eliminating transaction fees charged by payment processors such as Mastercard and Visa. Shares of several companies mentioned in the report fell sharply. DoorDash, American Express, KKR, and Blackstone each dropped at least 6%, while Uber, Mastercard, Visa, Capital One, and Apollo Global Management all declined over 4%. Against a backdrop of recent market volatility driven by AI disruption fears and geopolitical tensions, Citrini's grim scenario added further anxiety. Thomas George, portfolio manager at Grizzle Investment Management, noted that even if the worst-case scenario does not materialize, the disruption concerns raised are real and likely weakened confidence among investors holding these stocks. Subsequently, AI startup Anthropic stated in a blog post that its Claude Code tool could help modernize COBOL—an outdated programming language primarily running on IBM computers. A significant portion of IBM's revenue remains tied to its mainframe business, where client-owned servers run applications partly based on COBOL. Anthropic claimed Claude Code automates the most complex exploration and analysis tasks in COBOL modernization, noting AI excels at simplifying tasks that previously made such upgrades prohibitively expensive. Influenced by these developments, IBM shares closed down 13.15% on Monday, marking their largest daily decline since 2000. This indicates the company has become the latest traditional firm to face significant pressure due to fears that AI will suppress its growth prospects. Adding to the warnings, Nassim Taleb, known as the "father of black swan theory," stated that investors should prepare for increased volatility and even bankruptcies in the software sector as the AI-driven rally enters a more fragile phase. Taleb argued markets are underestimating structural risks while overestimating the durability of current AI leaders. He warned that although AI will generate substantial profits, history shows early pioneers are often displaced. He added that the likelihood of bankruptcies among some software firms is high as technological instability, intensified competition, and shifting geopolitical landscapes reshape the industry. In recent weeks, investors nervous about the potential impact of new AI tools have entered a "shoot first, ask questions later" mode. Beyond the hardest-hit software sector, insurance brokers, private credit firms, cybersecurity companies, and even real estate services stocks have been caught up in the so-called "AI panic trade." However, some analysts, strategists, and investors cautioned that many market reactions are exaggerated and may overestimate AI-related risks at present. Michael O’Rourke, chief market strategist at Jonestrading, remarked that the market's response was startling, noting its usual resilience in the face of actual negative news contrasted sharply with its失控下跌 reaction to a fictional piece.