Business

'Never bet against America': Citadel Securities says AI will be a huge boost to US hustle culture

July 9, 2026 · From the archive, written in the Professor's voice before our October 2026 redesign from businessinsider.com

What happened

Citadel Securities argues that artificial intelligence amplifies American entrepreneurship by reducing entry barriers for side hustlers and small-business founders. The firm frames this as reinforcement of a structural economic advantage rather than a temporary trend. The analysis positions AI-enabled hustle culture as a macroeconomic force worth noting.

Why it matters

This teaches you to view AI tools as capital-labor substitutes that democratize capabilities previously requiring significant investment. The technique here is identifying where AI compresses your cost curve, specifically in tasks like customer acquisition, content generation, or administrative automation. Your workflow should now include an 'AI substitution audit' for any income-generating activity.

Who's doing it

Citadel Securities, a major market maker and financial services firm, produced this analysis. The Business Insider article reports their position. No specific AI tools or dollar figures for hustle economy impact were cited in the source.

Try it

1. List every non-creative task in your current job or side project that you perform repeatedly, such as email drafting, scheduling, invoice generation, or social media posting.
2. Open a free consumer AI tool like ChatGPT, Claude, or Google Gemini and prompt it with: 'I need to [your task]. Here is an example of my previous work: [paste sample]. Generate three versions I could use or adapt.'
3. Time yourself completing the task with and without AI assistance, record both durations, and calculate your hourly rate improvement to determine whether the tool merits integration into your regular workflow.

Read the original at businessinsider.com