A leaked Treasury report warns the AI boom could drag down the whole economy if it stalls — bad news for markets, but the government is publicly betting on AI anyway.

• Career Treasury analysts wrote that AI firms are woven deeper into the economy than dot-com companies were, so a pullback would hurt stocks, chipmakers, cloud providers, utilities, and retirement accounts.
• The Trump Treasury dismissed the report and insists AI will drive a "new golden age," even as most of the S&P 500's gains now ride on a handful of AI-heavy giants like Nvidia, Google, and Meta.
• After public anger over job losses, AI bosses like Sam Altman and Dario Amodei have flipped their message from "AI will wipe out your job" to "AI will help your job."
• The real motive behind the softer tone: fear of a wealth tax, since honest talk about mass layoffs is turning voters against them.
• Data centers are wildly unpopular — one poll found 74% against them — and candidates who oppose them are gaining ground, even in conservative and swing areas.

Outlook: Expect AI leaders to keep downplaying job losses to dodge new taxes, while a market pullback remains the risk officials won't admit to publicly.