The technology sector and global financial markets are experiencing rapid transformation and confusion with the rise of AI agents—advanced systems capable of understanding objectives and executing complex, multi-step tasks entirely autonomously, without direct human intervention. This qualitative development is driving investors and analysts into a frantic race to anticipate the new landscape and identify the winners and losers in a global economy steadily moving toward full automation.
Historical context: From chatbots to intelligent agents
This revolution didn't emerge from a vacuum; it's the culmination of decades of development in artificial intelligence. For years, AI applications were limited to simple chatbots answering specific queries. The world witnessed a paradigm shift with the launch of large language models like ChatGPT in late 2012, which demonstrated remarkable capabilities in language understanding and text generation. Today, we're seeing the next generation: intelligent agents. These systems don't just answer questions; they can handle entire projects, from writing thousands of lines of code and testing and debugging them to delivering a ready-to-use application. Shay Polo of the Futurum consultancy summarizes the situation: "We're at a tipping point.".
A shake-up on Wall Street and a direct impact on companies
Recent announcements from leading companies like OpenAI and Anthropic in early February sent shockwaves through the markets. Investors began to realize that this new technology could pose an existential threat to software development and professional services companies that rely on human input. As a result, shares of major companies suffered sharp losses on Wall Street. For example, shares of Monday.com, a project management company, Thomson Reuters, a legal and tax consultancy, and Salesforce, a leader in customer relationship management, all plummeted by as much as 30% in just a few days. The fear is that an army of "programming robots" could replace the services these companies provide at a lower cost and with greater efficiency.
The importance of the event and its expected global impact
The impact of artificial intelligence extends far beyond the technology sector, permeating all aspects of the global economy. As American businessman Matt Schumer puts it, AI has moved from being a “useful tool” to “something that can do my job better than I do,” directly threatening the jobs of clerical and knowledge-based professions such as law, finance, medicine, accounting, and customer service. Internationally, this development intensifies technological competition among major powers and raises profound questions about the future of work and the need to restructure education and training systems to meet the demands of the new era. Jason Schluetzer, a professor of management at Georgetown University, likens the current situation to the early days of the internet in 1995, noting that major transformations only truly emerged years later, with the rise of companies like Netflix, which would not have existed without that technology.
Controversy among experts and an uncertain future
Despite the market panic, some analysts, like Dan Ives of Wedbush Securities, believe the reaction is “overblown,” and that the notion that these models will replace professional software and cybersecurity companies is “pure fantasy.” Others, however, insist that we are witnessing a fundamental shift that cannot be ignored. The hundreds of billions of dollars being poured into this sector are creating periodic market volatility and fueling fears of an “AI bubble” that could burst. Nevertheless, the overall trend remains clear: the world has never experienced a technological upheaval of this magnitude and speed, and the near future, perhaps just a few years away, will bring radical transformations to the way we work and live.
