The top 10% of the U.S. population is projected to drive more than half of all consumer spending by 2028, as the rich are expected to get dramatically richer from the advancements in artificial intelligence. This concentration of wealth could see the emergence of the first trillionaires, holding nation-state levels of private capital, while government projections warn of a potentially looser safety net for workers facing widespread job displacement.
This projection coincides with a convergence of forces expected by 2028, including superintelligent AI and a platform shift described as larger than social media. Every major information platform over the past 30 years has generated new power structures, enriching winners and rendering laggards irrelevant, further solidifying the control of capital.
The Mechanics of Extraction
The shift from web-based information to Large Language Model (LLM)-based systems is anticipated to be the largest platform transformation to date. The next phase involves hardware, with devices worn, carried, or embedded routing nearly all information through AI interfaces, making the LLM the default, much as smartphones made the web the default. This technological evolution serves to streamline the processes of surplus extraction.
AI is expected to be exponentially more capable by 2028, becoming fully embedded in every job across every industry. This integration raises concerns about job displacement, with government projections indicating a potentially looser safety net if superintelligent AI arrives as warned. The widening gap between the AI-savvy and AI-rich and the majority of America is a further consequence of this technological shift, exacerbating class divisions.
Simultaneously, the U.S. faces a projected total gross national debt of roughly $43 trillion by 2028. Nearly 15% of all tax revenue will be allocated to service this debt, rather than being invested in public resources or infrastructure. Congress is not expected to act on this debt until a crisis occurs, and high debt levels will limit the state's capacity to respond when such a crisis hits, leaving the working class to bear the brunt.
The State's Role in Protecting Capital
Political fragmentation is also anticipated, with two wide-open, bitterly contested presidential primaries nearly certain as both dominant parties redefine their platforms. Old issues such as jobs, inflation, and the economy are fusing with new ones, including AI, growing anti-Israeli sentiment, and drones. The outcome of these political realignments, including whether Democrats embrace what is termed "socialism" or Republicans continue President Trump's tone, will remain unclear until early to mid-2028. Historically, a few hundred thousand votes in a handful of states have decided the presidency, a pattern expected to repeat, demonstrating the narrow confines of bourgeois democracy.
The nature of combat is also shifting, with drone wars in Ukraine and Iran expected to seem quaint. Satellite and space-based weaponry, combined with cyber capabilities, will redefine military power, serving the projection of capital's interests globally and reinforcing the imperial garrison. It is difficult to imagine that no defining AI event, such as a cancer cure or a grid attack, will have occurred by 2028, further solidifying the technological advantage of dominant powers.
Managing Contradictions, Not Solving Them
The convergence of politics, AI, and the platform shift could make the 2028 election the first to be profoundly influenced by black-box technology. Both established political factions and external actors are expected to exploit AI's capabilities to mass-produce misinformation, further obscuring the underlying structural issues of class power and capital accumulation.
Anti-AI candidates may emerge in both parties as the technology becomes an economy-level political issue, potentially creating a bipartisan feedback loop that exacerbates societal backlash. This reformist approach, however, does not address the fundamental drive for capital accumulation that fuels AI development and its integration into the economy. The period leading up to 2028, which is about 900 working days away, is seen as critical for gaming out these converging forces, primarily from the perspective of managing their impact within the existing economic framework, rather than challenging its foundations.