![](\"https:\/\/fortune.com\/img-assets\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1569758615191.jpg?w=2048\")
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When Palantir CEO Alex Karp predicted that AI would erode the economic power of \u201chumanities-trained, largely Democratic voters\u201d in favor of \u201cworking class, often male voters,\u201d he wasn\u2019t making a forecast. He was making a choice \u2014 and calling it destiny.<\/p>\n
That distinction matters more than whether he\u2019s right.<\/p>\n
AI has advanced faster than almost anyone expected. Recent geopolitical shocks have compounded the uncertainty. But the real question isn\u2019t who wins or loses in Karp\u2019s vision \u2014 it\u2019s whether that vision is the one we want to build.<\/p>\n
Disruption Isn\u2019t the Same as Progress<\/p>\n
The AI era has generated extraordinary wealth. Nvidia and Microsoft are each worth trillions. ChatGPT now reaches 900 million weekly users. By conventional measures, the revolution is working.<\/p>\n
But U.S. unemployment hit a four-year high last November. The wealth gap between the top 1% and bottom 50% has widened since ChatGPT launched. Rapid advancement and record market performance are not measures of success \u2014 they\u2019re measures of speed.<\/p>\n
A technology capable of unprecedented scientific discovery and work automation should do more than reshuffle economic winners. It hasn\u2019t, largely because industry and government have failed to define what outcomes they actually want AI to deliver \u2014 or who it should serve.<\/p>\n
Trust Is the Missing Ingredient<\/p>\n
People adopted the smartphone because they could see how it would improve their lives. Nobody adopts a technology framed as replacing them.<\/p>\n
Yet that\u2019s exactly how some of AI\u2019s loudest advocates describe it. The result is predictable: wariness, skepticism, and a widening gap between immense capability and actual value.<\/p>\n
For AI to endure \u2014 commercially and socially \u2014 people need to trust it. That requires them to feel its benefits directly.<\/p>\n
Where AI Should Actually Go to Work<\/p>\n
If AI is eliminating manual labor, the economically and socially prudent move is to direct that capacity toward the sectors most starved of it: healthcare, human services, and infrastructure.<\/p>\n
These industries face acute labor shortages and stretched staff. They\u2019re also where automating manual tasks would be most transformative\u00a0without\u00a0displacing workers:<\/p>\n
Doctors\u00a0spending more time diagnosing and treating patients instead of documenting visits<\/p>\n
Caseworkers\u00a0staying in their roles because their jobs no longer consume their weekends<\/p>\n
Transit systems\u00a0running more reliably as maintenance and reporting become automated<\/p>\n
That\u2019s not disruption. That\u2019s progress.<\/p>\n
Build With Workers, Not For Them<\/p>\n
The US leads in AI talent, research, and infrastructure. The challenge isn\u2019t building the technology \u2014 it\u2019s pointing it at the right problems.<\/p>\n
One meaningful shift since ChatGPT\u2019s launch: the skills threshold to harness AI has dropped dramatically. LLMs, vibe-coding, and accessible tools mean that building and tailoring technology is no longer reserved for elite college graduates. Frontline workers \u2014 the ones who actually understand what\u2019s broken in healthcare or social services \u2014 are no longer locked out.<\/p>\n
A software engineer knows nothing about being a doctor or a caseworker. If AI is going to serve our most critical workers, industry must build it\u00a0with\u00a0them, not\u00a0for\u00a0them. Government procurement must do the same. That\u2019s how you get both value and trust.<\/p>\n
Stop Predicting. Start Deciding.<\/p>\n
Karp is right that AI will reshape economic power. Where he\u2019s wrong is treating that reshaping as inevitable rather than engineered.<\/p>\n
The problems most in need of solving aren\u2019t hidden. We know where inequality lives. We know which services are buckling. If the leaders building this technology want it to last, they should stop predicting who gets left behind \u2014 and start deciding who gets lifted up.<\/p>\n
The opinions expressed in Fortune.com commentary pieces are solely the views of their authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of\u00a0Fortune.<\/p>\n
#AIs #disruption #choice #forecast<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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