Appendix · Sources

Every citation, grouped by chapter.

All figures in the essay are drawn from the sources listed below. Where a chart aggregates multiple sources, each is cited in the chart's footer in addition to the list here.

Chapter 01 · The detonation

Chapter 02 · The labor market

  • Layoffs.fyi tracker— Layoffs.fyi2022–2026
  • State of Talent Report 2025— SignalFire2025
  • Generative AI and productivity at work (support agents study)— Brynjolfsson, Li & Raymond / NBER2023
  • Navigating the jagged frontier— Dell'Acqua et al. (BCG / Harvard)2023
  • GitHub Copilot productivity study— GitHub2023
  • Experimental evidence on the productivity effects of generative AI— Noy & Zhang (Science)2023
  • Generative AI: Economic potential— McKinsey Global Institute2023–2024
  • AI and the future of work— OECD Employment Outlook2023–2024
  • Upwork Research Institute — talent trends— Upwork2024–2025
  • Anthropic Economic Index— AnthropicQ1 2026

Chapter 03 · The capital story

  • Inference price trackers— Artificial Analysis2024–2026
  • Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon, Meta, Oracle quarterly disclosures— Company filings (10-Q / 10-K)2023–2026
  • Nvidia investor materials and GTC keynotes— Nvidia2023–2026
  • Anthropic and OpenAI revenue reporting— The Information, CNBC, SaaStr, VentureBeat2023–2026
  • State of Private Markets — AI deals— CB Insights / PitchBook2024–2026
  • Stargate announcement— OpenAI / SoftBank / Oracle / MGX2025

Chapter 04 · The Anthropic ascent

  • State of Generative AI in the Enterprise (multiple waves)— Menlo Ventures2023–2026
  • Claude release notes (Claude 1 → Claude 4.5 Opus)— Anthropic2023–2026
  • OpenRouter aggregate routing data— OpenRouter2024–2026
  • Cursor, Replit, Windsurf, GitHub Copilot product disclosures— Various2024–2026

Chapter 05 · The world catches up

  • Public opinion on AI (multiple waves)— Pew Research Center2022, 2024, 2025
  • AI Incident Database— Responsible AI Collaborative2018–2025
  • EU AI Act — official text and implementation timeline— European Commission2024–2026
  • Executive Order 14110 and rescission— White House2023, 2025
  • America's AI Action Plan— White House2025
  • Bletchley Declaration— UK Government / 28 signatories2023
  • Generative AI Measures— Cyberspace Administration of China2023
  • AI Basic Act— Government of the Republic of Korea2025–2026