The Agent Economy

How autonomous AI agents are reshaping work, commerce, compute, and policy — a ten-part investigation into the next phase of the economy.

8 parts in this series

Part 1 Apr 20, 2026 8 min read

AI agents are transitioning from passive chatbots to autonomous economic actors, creating a categorical shift in how labor is defined and …

Part 2 Apr 21, 2026 9 min read

As autonomous AI agents shift from simple chat to complex task execution, the underlying compute costs are exploding, driving a $600 billion …

Part 3 Apr 23, 2026 8 min read

AI coding agents are transforming software engineering from a high-priced human craft into a scalable utility service, leading to a massive …

Part 4 Apr 24, 2026 8 min read

As AI shopping agents begin transacting on behalf of users, the trillion-dollar online commerce industry faces a structural shift from …

Part 5 Apr 25, 2026 9 min read

The rapid adoption of AI agents is delivering unprecedented productivity gains to global banks, but it is also creating a massive, unpriced …

Part 6 Apr 26, 2026 8 min read

As autonomous AI agents move from experimental labs to the heart of corporate America, a lucrative new class of white-collar work is …

Part 7 Apr 27, 2026 8 min read

The abstract 'agent economy' is triggering a massive physical infrastructure buildout, driving land prices up tenfold in rural areas and …

Part 8 May 9, 2026 7 min read

While the U.S. and Europe have poured hundreds of billions into domestic semiconductor plants, a massive shift in AI technology has made the …