Liberal Arts Makes A Comeback, CEOs Freeze Hiring, & GDP Sees Ghosts

March 18, 2026: Two-thirds of CEOs are freezing hiring while betting billions on AI — and a gender economist argues they're cutting the very people needed to make those bets pay off. A 7,000-word Substack essay imagined a "Ghost GDP" collapse by 2028, moved the Dow 800 points, and sparked a Wall Street war between Citrini Research and Citadel Securities over whether AI job fears are real or overblown.

Management consulting was supposed to be dead by now — Capgemini's strategy chief explains why it's not, and why the shift to outcome-based billing may be the more disruptive story. And Microsoft's chief scientist says the degree with the worst starting salaries may be the most future-ready credential in the age of AI. Sources: Fortune, Bloomberg, Fortune Eye on AI.

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