IBM's CEO is setting his sights on using AI to replace thousands of jobs, Nathan writes.

Why it matters: Arvind Krishna's comment to Bloomberg that the company plans to pause hiring on back-office functions is one of the first acknowledgments by a major company that it plans to replace its workforce with AI.

What they're saying: “I could easily see 30% of that [division] getting replaced by AI and automation over a five-year period," Krishna said.

• That amounts to some 7,800 positions at IBM, part of which would involve not replacing jobs after workers leave, the company told Bloomberg.

Zoom in: Unlike most executive messages to this point that AI will simply supplement workforces or empower employees, Krishna openly admitted that he'll use the technology to slash roles.

The big picture: AI has the potential to fundamentally reshape the workforce, much like the industrial revolution and the digital age caused enormous opportunity, upheaval and uncertainty throughout the economy.

The intrigue: American workers seem to believe this, but tend to think it won't affect their job.

• 62% "think the use of AI in the workplace will have a major impact on workers generally over the next 20 years," the Pew Research Center reported in a survey published in April.
• But only 28% "believe the use of AI will have a major impact on them personally."

Go deeper.

If you read Axios Markets this morning (and we know you did), you know that the sale of First Republic Bank's assets to JPMorgan yesterday did not appear to have quelled investor fears in the banking sector.

• About nine hours later, things haven't changed.

By the numbers: The KBW Nasdaq Bank Index closed down 4.5% today, sending it down over 6% since Friday's close.

• The S&P 500 regional banking index closed down 6.5% today.

In the chart above, you can see a handful of individual regional bank stocks that bore the brunt of sell orders today.

🚗 Uber's stock jumped 11.6% after the company reported strong rider growth and food delivery. (Reuters)

🏨 Marriott beat earnings expectations as buoyant consumer demand outweighed sluggish business travel. (Bloomberg)

:clapper: Late-night TV comedy shows have gone dark after Hollywood writers began striking early Tuesday. (AP)

Activist investor Carl Icahn — famous for attacking companies for their poor performance — is now the target of attack by another activist investor, Nathan writes.

• Icahn Enterprises shares closed down 20% today after Hindenburg Research, an activist short seller, released a report detailing why it believes Icahn's publicly traded investment firm is severely overvalued.

Details: Hindenburg is claiming Icahn Enterprises has been supporting an outsized dividend yield by using a "Ponzi-like" structure, using money taken in from new investors to pay out dividends to old ones.

• Hindenburg also alleges "inflated valuation marks" of Icahn Enterprises' less liquid and private assets, and it accused the company of carrying too much debt.

Worth noting: Hindenburg is a short seller, meaning it financially benefits when the stocks of companies it has bet against go down.

The other side: Icahn did not respond to requests seeking comment.

The most recent Super Bowl had even more viewers than originally believed, Nathan writes.

Catch up quick: Ratings service Nielsen reported Tuesday that 115.1 million people watched Super Bowl 57 between the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles in February — up from a previous estimate of 113.06 million, USA Today reported.

• That makes it the most-watched NFL game ever, according to Nielsen, though the Hollywood Reporter noted that Nielsen didn't begin tracking out-of-home viewership in same-day ratings until 2021.
• The adjusted ratings also means that Rihanna's halftime show was the most-watched ever with 121 million viewers.

What happened: Nielsen discovered multiple issues that distorted its initial report, including an encoding error.

💭 Nathan's thought bubble: Unfortunately for Eagles fans, the score of the game won't be changing.

"We now believe it’s having an impact on our new customer growth rate."