Renowned macroeconomic expert Nouriel Roubini, also referred to as ‘Dr. Doom’ or ‘permabear,’ a moniker he earned by correctly predicting the 2008 financial crisis, has a bullish outlook on the U.S. and global economy, defying several Wall Street forecasts in recent weeks.

What Happened: Speaking with Simon Nixon, the publisher of the Wealth of Nations newsletter at the 10th Delphi Economic Forum in Greece this week, Roubini had a rather optimistic take on the state of the economy, owing to the recent advances in AI, as reported by Geek Reporter.

He said “Artificial intelligence is set to transform a dozen major sectors, propelling economic growth,” before adding that by the end of this decade “U.S. growth could hit 4 percent. By the end of the next decade, we might see 6 percent.”

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Saying that he’s gone from “Dr. Doom to Dr. Boom,” Roubini insists that technology will offset protectionist policies, and even amid the trade war, the U.S. economy will continue to expand, with that “growth spilling over to the rest of the world,” as for the first time in history, “we're entering a phase of exponential innovation.”

Roubini says that large companies will not wait for political clarity and that they aren’t concerned about tariffs. Taking a shot at Donald Trump, he says it won’t matter even if “Mickey Mouse is president—the economy will keep growing,” thanks to the momentum that innovation brings.

Speaking about the impact of tariffs on Europe, Roubini believes that while the 10% tariff isn’t ideal, it won’t “devastate Europe’s economy.” He further predicts that Trump’s negotiations in this regard would likely involve demands for more defense spending, preferably through U.S. defense contractors, and commitments to purchase more American LNG.

He, however, believes that negotiations with China will be a lot more fraught since Chinese Premier Xi Jinping “doesn’t face elections” and is thus less likely to blink, preferring to inject a massive fiscal stimulus package, devalue the Yuan, or boost domestic consumption instead.

While he is no fan of Trump’s trade policies, calling them “crazy and unfair,” Roubini does concede that China “needs to reform its economic model,” adding that it’s not just the U.S. demanding change, but “rest of the world expects it too.”

Why It Matters: Roubini has been increasingly vocal over the past couple of days, and just last week referred to Trump’s tariff announcement on ‘Liberation Day’ as "literally Orwellian doublespeak."

He later warned that the markets were delusional about the Fed’s willingness to step in amid escalating trade tensions, describing the situation as a “three-way game of chicken” between Trump, Jerome Powell, and Xi Jinping, with Trump being mostly likely to blink first.

Price Action: It has been 9 days since Liberation Day, and the S&P 500 (INDEXSP: .INX) is down 7%, the Nasdaq (INDEXNASDAQ: .IXIC) by 6.8%, and the Global X Artificial Intelligence & Technology ETF ( AIQ ) that invests predominantly in AI stocks is down 8.5%, as markets expect a tariff-driven recession.

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