Cumberland clients recently joined CEO Charles Sims for an insightful conversation with longtime friend of the firm and research visionary Barbara Gray. In her latest presentation, Unimaginable: The New Economic Frontier, Barbara delivered a powerful vision of what lies ahead in an AI-driven economy.

A Third Wave of Capital

Barbara presented her thesis that we are entering a new era defined by the rise of AI agent capital, a third form of capital that could rival and eventually surpass both human and physical capital in driving economic productivity.

Autonomous digital workers, such as customer service bots, scheduling assistants, and research agents, are already replacing human labour in select functions. But according to Barbara, we’ve only just begun.

“AI agent capital is an infinite resource,” she explained. “Its marginal cost is approaching zero, and its capabilities are growing exponentially. That combination will unleash a capital supply shock unlike anything we’ve seen since the Second Industrial Revolution.”

She argued that this shift is not evolutionary but exponential, following an “AI disruption curve” that compresses the impact of decades into a handful of years.

EQ Over IQ: A Changing Labour Landscape

One of Barbara’s most striking predictions was that up to 70% of virtual white-collar jobs could be displaced by AI agents by 2032, representing about 25% of the total U.S. workforce. These are roles once thought safe due to their intellectual requirements, but their virtual and rules-based nature makes them highly automatable.

The consequences could be profound: a reversal in income distribution where blue- and pink-collar workers with hands-on skills, emotional intelligence, and in-person roles become more valuable than remote white-collar professionals.

“EQ will be worth more than IQ,” Barbara emphasized.

Yet she also offered a hopeful countertrend: a boom in solo entrepreneurship, as individuals use AI agents to launch microbusinesses that blend human creativity and real-world presence with scalable digital leverage. She called this an “age of rediscovery,” especially for workers willing to reinvent themselves.

From Destruction to Discovery

Beyond the workplace, AI agent capital is poised to radically advance science and healthcare. Barbara cited a case where AI cracked a decade-long superbug mystery in just two days. This is proof, she says, of an impending Research Renaissance. She envisions a world of “co-scientists,” where humans and AI expand knowledge together at an unprecedented pace.

She also introduced the concept of autonomous organizations, which are corporate structures powered by AI, with minimal human layers, capable of coordinating entire workflows without traditional management hierarchies.

Strategic and Investment Implications

Following Barbara’s presentation, Cumberland portfolio managers Levon Barker, Peter Jackson, and Phil D’Iorio joined the discussion to explore how this transformation might influence portfolios.

Capital intensity is rising, especially for traditional software firms investing in AI infrastructure. Levon pointed to data centre buildouts and GPU demand as signs of how business models are evolving. Peter emphasized that companies with high R&D-to-sales ratios and large white-collar workforces could become key beneficiaries of AI-driven productivity gains if they execute well.

The team highlighted names like Salesforce, which is making AI deployment more accessible across industries, and semiconductor leaders such as Nvidia, ASML, and TSMC as foundational players powering the shift.

At Cumberland, we view this moment not as a flashpoint, but as a multi-year transformation. Our investment team is:

• • Evaluating whether AI investments are translating into superior returns on capital
  • Tracking AI-driven efficiency gains across sectors, especially in financial services and tech
  • Monitoring international holdings linked to the semiconductor complex, where innovation is accelerating
  • Exploring ways to integrate AI tools internally while preserving our human-centered client experience.

As Barbara reminded us, “This revolution will create phenomenal wealth, but it will also force us to rethink how and where value is created.”

We believe AI will reward adaptability, enable new forms of leverage, and reshape the architecture of wealth. Our goal is to stay ahead of these shifts so we can help our clients navigate them confidently and thoughtfully.

If you have any questions or would like to watch a replay of the event, please reach out to your Cumberland Portfolio Manager.