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Welcome back. This edition unpacks a new milestone in the space race and what it means for businesses.
Plus, a viral LinkedIn post exposes the “cognitive dissonance” workers have about A.I.
And for paid members: Carta VP of brand and creative Chris Perrins shares the playbook on capturing the PE industry’s attention with a giant Magic 8 Ball.
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The Rising Tide:
Star Wars and Space Tech
Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink speaks at the U.S. Air Force Academy graduation ceremony on May 28, 2026 in Colorado Springs, Colorado. A total of 931 graduates received their diplomas during the ceremony and will enter the Air Force or Space Force to serve for a minimum of 5 years. (Photo: Michael Ciaglo/Getty Images)
Before we get to the turmoil in the A.I. industry, here’s a story you may have missed that’s worth following. From Bloomberg, a first-of-its-kind public disclosure:
Air Force Secretary Troy Meink announced at a conference on Monday [Sept. 14] that the US now has a space weapon that would be used to protect American forces, prompting a warning from the Russian Foreign Ministry of “the gravest consequences” if it is used.
The weapon is the orbital component of the current US space arsenal that has consisted of ground-based jammers intended to temporarily disrupt Chinese and Russian communications satellites, though not to destroy them. …
“We’re not going to talk about the specifics of what we’re doing — whether we’ve tested it, not tested it, or anything else,” Meink told reporters Monday after his disclosure.
Why boards and senior executives should care
Global governments want defense technologies in space to help shape the outcome of terrestrial conflicts, notes JPMorgan.
Their ambitions will have broad impact: By 2050, “[s]pace is likely to become fundamental to nearly every business, much like the internet evolved from a distinct sector in the early 2000s into a core part of every company today,” says Goldman Sachs’ global head of aerospace, defense, and government services Mike Tarulli.
As newer systems in space come online, leaders need to start thinking about contingencies: “What would happen if our organization lost access to space-based services — GPS, satellite communications, earth observation data — even for a day or two?” says Deloitte principal Alison Walgren. “That could disrupt things in ways people don’t always anticipate.”
Why workers should care
Job opportunities related to this sector are varied and don’t necessarily involve traveling to space, according to Indeed.
Law, policy, sustainability, financing, marketing, communications, and project management roles are all in demand, per Arizona State University’s Thunderbird School of Global Management.
“Persistent geopolitical instability, demand for faster innovation cycles, [and] record levels of private capital” are among the biggest drivers of growth for space tech, the Goldman Sachs report says.
Why investors should care
Boeing, Northrop Grumman, L3Harris Technologies, Lockheed Martin, RTX, BAE Systems, HawkEye 360, Planet Labs, Voyager Technologies, Rocket Lab, Firefly Aerospace, and of course SpaceX are all space and defense companies that will be impacted, Barron’s Al Root writes.
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Decoding:
The A.I. Brain Split
Have you seen this post on your LinkedIn feed? Screenshot: Brie Abramowicz/LinkedIn.
I spent last weekend glued to my devices tracking the A.I. slowdown crisis and this weekend up in the Catskills for a three-day wedding.
My laptop stayed within reach — muscle memory of a recovering breaking news reporter — but I resisted. (Thus today’s delayed send.)
Oscillating between these two extremes — trying to enjoy life vs. obsessing over whether and when A.I. might end the good times — is a sensation familiar to many people now.
This latent anxiety is a story I’ve been following all year on Macro Talk, as longtime subscribers know. I’ve talked about it on stages like HumanX with the CEOs of Zoom and Glean, and CEOs of Zendesk and Pelgo on the podcast.
This week, my friend and career coach Brie Abramowicz talked about it on LinkedIn in a post that’s elicited over 1,100 interactions:
One of the strangest things about working in tech right now is the level of cognitive dissonance you're expected to carry around on a daily basis. …
Everyday [sic] we are bombarded with headlines about AI moving too quickly, companies calling for regulation and being brushed off by the government, trillion[s] of dollars in capital chasing an unclear return, and the media suggesting that these technologies could destabilize society.
And you are still expected to log into work on a Monday morning and be excited and go go go!
Abramowicz, who previously worked for Target and Amazon, calls employers out for putting workers in an “INSANE psychological position” right now.
“Expressing hesitation or concern can quickly become interpreted as you being resistant to change or ‘not innovative enough,’” she writes.
“You cannot expect them to compartmentalize every doubt or ethical objection they have like that and not expect them to burn out.”
In the comments
Most of the replies echoed Abramowicz’s sentiment — with one person calling A.I. cultish and another likening the A.I. race to “the corporate hunger games.”
Some reminded readers to think of management too: they’re experiencing similar or greater pressure.
People blamed capitalism and compensation incentives for the current environment.
Several pointed to this tense environment as cause for quitting tech and corporate life to work for themselves.
The reality
There’s always been a performative aspect to work.
A.I. is forcing many people to act harder, amid even greater uncertainty about the outcome.
Macro Talk will do its best to uncover as many perspectives as possible — and to serve as a bridge and interpreter for workers and leaders. That’s always been the mission.
Strategy Talk:
Carta VP of Brand and Creative — Chris Perrins
Carta installed a giant Magic 8 Ball in Grand Central Terminal on Wednesday, September 16, 2026. (Photos: Courtesy of Carta)
Carta, the private markets software maker, is courting private equity after dominating cap table management.
The company built a 25-foot-tall Magic 8 Ball inside Grand Central Terminal (photos above) to show off its new fund-focused AI plugins to a neighborhood packed with PE industry professionals. (PR firm Outcast sent me a smaller version as an invite.)
I couldn’t make it in person, but as someone obsessed with predicting the future, I thought it was a fun theme and a clever campaign that reflects PE’s growing impact on the economy.
On Friday, I rang up Carta’s VP of Brand and Creative Chris Perrins in SF. He shared the strategy behind the creative, what it cost, and what he thinks it takes to capture attention today:
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