Cramer warns the narrative around AI is turning — and stocks could pay the price

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Mad Money

Published Tue, Sep 29 20266:20 PM EDT

Key Points

• CNBC’s Jim Cramer said the AI industry is losing the battle over public perception as concerns around jobs, electricity costs and safety challenge the technology’s economic promise.
• He said AI companies need to do more to demonstrate the technology’s benefits, pointing to Meta’s efforts around data centers and its Muse AI agent as examples.

CNBC's Jim Cramer said Tuesday that the artificial intelligence industry is losing the battle over public perception.

"The culture has turned against these people, these products, and the proponents have been caught flatfooted," the "Mad Money" host said. He added, "Wall Street's losing the battle of the narrative and all sorts of stocks might end up getting hurt."

The change in sentiment comes at a difficult time for the market. Treasury yields continue to climb to multiyear highs, while more than half of S&P 500 constituents are trading below their 200-day moving averages, meaning those stocks are in a downward trend, and 204 stocks in the index are at least 20% below their 52-week highs.

Given the already narrow market, Cramer worries changing attitudes toward AI could pressure the biggest growth driver on Wall Street and an important source of growth for the U.S. economy overall. Concerns about jobs, electricity costs and safety are increasingly competing with the industry's promises of economic growth and productivity gains. The stakes are raised by this being a midterm election year, with Democrats and Republicans vying for control of Congress.

"Eighteen months ago, people might've said these execs are putting tens of thousands of people to work building data centers," Cramer said. "Now we think how much have they raised electricity prices? How much water did they despoil? How many towns just got had?"

"I'm not a doomer," Cramer said. "You know I'm constructive on AI, but the companies have to start telling better stories."