The rise of AI: how new technologies are changing the market and worrying investors

# The AI Offensive: How New Technologies Are Reshaping the Market and Unsettling Investors

Which sectors are under pressure, and why

The release of new, increasingly powerful AI tools has coincided with a period of turbulence in the stock markets. This coincidence has stirred anxiety among investors, who see AI not only as a tool for boosting efficiency but also as a potential threat to their investments. Companies whose business processes could be automated or transformed by AI have come under close scrutiny.

The issue is especially acute in sectors where a significant share of the work is intellectual labor: from writing code and analyzing data to drafting legal documents and optimizing logistics chains. Experts are seriously debating the risk that millions of office jobs could disappear, or at the very least that the profits of established market players could shrink substantially.

What AI can do in these industries

AI tools, including large language models, are capable of performing tasks that once required human involvement: content creation, writing program code, analyzing large volumes of data, translation, and legal consulting. In the advertising industry, AI can generate ad copy, target audiences, and optimize campaigns, which calls into question the role of traditional advertising agencies and their employees. In the legal field, AI can analyze documents, find precedents, and draft standard contracts, reducing the need for large legal staffs. In software development, AI helps with writing and testing code, while in logistics it optimizes routes and inventory management. This transformation can lower companies' operating costs, but at the same time reduce demand for certain kinds of skilled labor.

Risks, opportunities, and arguments against panic

The adoption of AI promises productivity gains, the emergence of new services and products, and lower prices for consumers — companies that successfully integrate AI gain a competitive advantage. At the same time, there remains a risk of mass unemployment among office workers, the need to retrain specialists, and rising social inequality — the panic in sectors such as the UK advertising industry is a consequence of this uncertainty. There are also arguments against panic: the history of technological revolutions shows that new technologies tend not so much to destroy jobs as to transform them and create new ones.

The key to success for businesses and investors lies in adaptation: retraining employees, using AI as an assistant rather than a competitor, and seeking new business models based on AI's capabilities.

Which sectors have already felt the impact of AI?

The turmoil has touched software development, logistics, legal services, and pharmaceuticals, as well as real estate and advertising — in these last two sectors, company valuations are falling. The clearest example is the UK's advertising agencies, which have recorded their largest staff exodus in years amid uncertainty around AI.

Does AI threaten mass job cuts?

Experts are seriously debating the risk that millions of office jobs could disappear, or at the very least that the profits of established market players could shrink substantially. At the same time, there is a counterargument: the history of technological revolutions shows that new technologies usually do not destroy jobs but transform them and create new ones.

How should businesses and investors respond to these changes?

The key to success lies in adaptation, not resistance: companies that retrain their employees and use AI as an assistant rather than a competitor will gain a competitive advantage. Investors should rebalance their portfolios toward companies that not only adapt to AI but also actively use it to drive innovation, while factoring in the risk that traditional business models could become obsolete.