Citadel Securities has issued a macro strategy note rebutting the recent Citrini blog post that warned of widespread white-collar job displacement from artificial intelligence. The investment firm argues that AI adoption data remains stable and that software engineer job postings have actually risen 11% year-over-year, contrary to concerns about labor market disruption.

Citadel Securities points to macroeconomic indicators suggesting AI is functioning as a productivity shock rather than a job destroyer. The firm notes that AI capital expenditure has reached 2% of GDP at $650 billion, while the unemployment rate sits at 4.28%. Data center construction appears to be driving construction hiring, and new business formation is expanding rapidly according to U.S. Census Bureau data.

The firm draws parallels between AI adoption and historical technological advances like personal computers and the internet, suggesting AI follows a similar S-curve pattern rather than exponential growth. Citadel Securities argues that productivity shocks are disinflationary and growth-enhancing in the medium term, similar to steam power, electrification, and computing. The firm concludes that over the past century, successive waves of technological change have not rendered labor obsolete but have maintained long-term trend growth near 2% in advanced economies.