Public backlash

Public opinion turns hard enough that politicians restrict deployment, especially where jobs are visibly lost.

Cuts off 5 boxes, 4 of 53 stages · slows 14 · Show on the map →

Hits directly

Workflow redesigncapability · Emerging
AI in public servicesstage · Emerging

Signs

Pew found 52% of Americans more concerned than excited about AI in June 2026, up from 37% in 2021, with 71% expecting fewer jobs. Under-30s are the most worried, and entry-level hiring in AI-exposed jobs is already below trend.

What would soften it

Visible benefits in health and education, and policies that share the gains.

Cut off 5

White-collar hiring slowdownstage · Emerging
Offshore services displacementstage · Emerging
Agent-native organisationsstage · Emerging
Measured productivity gainscapability · Emerging
Agent economiesstage · Speculative

Slowed 14

Cognitive abundancestage · Speculative
Frontier lab revenuestage · Built today
Capex payback gapbrake · Emerging
Firms shrink to a few operatorsstage · Emerging
Public AI scepticismbrake · Built today
AI as an electoral issuebrake · Emerging
Agents designing agentsstage · Speculative
Civilisation-scale knowledgestage · Speculative
Explosive economic growthstage · Speculative
Superintelligencestage · Speculative
Human-agent symbiosisstage · Speculative
Long-latency civilisationstage · Speculative
Choosing the objectivestage · Speculative
Extended mindstage · Speculative