For the tech CEOs leading the AI race and enriching themselves as they jostle for dominance, AI isn’t a phantasm at all, but a glimmering unicorn. When they predict AI is just months away from being able to do everything a software engineer does, or that it will one day take over CEOs’ jobs, their excitement for the future is palpable. For the rest of us, it’s hard to feel confident in their offhand remarks about how “some jobs will be obsolete, but many jobs will be created”. A 2025 Pew survey found that “64% of the public thinks AI will lead to fewer jobs over the next 20 years”, which is probably why only 17% of Americans say AI will have a positive effect on the US over the same time period.