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It’s rare when financial news breaks over a weekend, but that is exactly what occurred recently. There have been on again, off again worries about the dangers of AI, but those concerns came to a head when 27-year-old Anthropic employee Jacob Coxon posted about his resignation from the company, accusing the firm and his previous employer, OpenAI, of not “acting responsibly. They are racing straight to self-improving superintelligence and gambling with our lives.”

In response, on September 12, Anthropic CEO and co-founder Dario Amodei posted an open letter, We Must Pace the Frontier, where he proposed a three-step plan to build AI “at a balanced rate that aims to ensure its safety while still achieving its benefits and grappling with important geopolitical dilemmas.”

Amodei sat down with my colleague, Jo Ling Kent, for an interview that aired on CBS Sunday Morning the following day, where he said that AI poses “real dangers,” but would not go so far as to stop releasing more advanced models.

Rivals Sam Altman of OpenAI, Elon Musk of xAI chimed in that they agreed with Amodei, and would sign on for a coordinated slowdown, where they would all be subject to increased regulation and independent monitoring of AI model development.

Although I am not an expert in AI, my inbox got very busy on the heels of these developments.

Here are three most frequently asked questions that I fielded:

AI has become a genuine engine of U.S. growth — not just hype. Economists estimate that AI-related investment, including what companies are spending on AI services and the data centers that power them, has accounted for roughly one-third to one-half of overall economic growth in the first half of this year. That's a remarkable share for one industry and certainly means that if there is a slowdown in the industry, it will act as a drag on overall economic growth.

We will need to watch what they do, not what they say. Some skeptics think the recent handwringing is less about economics and more about public relations — a way to get ahead of growing local backlash. A recent Gallup poll found that seven in 10 Americans oppose new data-center construction in their own communities. Softening the "unstoppable AI boom" narrative may be a convenient way to look more modest — and less threatening to the neighbors.

On the Friday before the Amodei letter dropped, U.S. stock indexes were well-ahead for the year. The S&P 500 was up 11.8 percent and the NASDAQ Composite by 13.3%.

Expectations of continued AI investment and spending have been a major catalyst for stocks over the past three years.

So, what to do now? My answer, as always: doing nothing is itself a decision — and often the right one. Whether stocks are soaring or sinking, there's overwhelming evidence that trying to time the market simply doesn't work. Tune out the noise, stick to your plan, and keep a diversified portfolio.

Not yet, and maybe not in the way people fear. Last week's government jobs report was solid, and so far, the AI wave hasn't translated into mass layoffs.

A recent New York Federal Reserve Bank survey found that 34 % of service firms and 22% of manufacturers using AI are retraining their staff — while only 4% of service firms and zero manufacturers reported layoffs tied to AI. For now, companies appear to be reshaping jobs more than eliminating them.

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(Jill Schlesinger, CFP, is a CBS News business analyst. A former options trader and CIO of an investment advisory firm, she welcomes comments and questions at askjill@jillonmoney.com. Check her website at www.jillonmoney.com)

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