Doom and gloom stock predictions rarely if ever come true, but that doesn’t keep some investors from moving out of the market.

When listening to stock predictions, especially gloomy ones like those below, keep in mind that nobody can consistently predict the future. Also remember that the most widely accepted predictions are especially prone to failure. That’s because people, as individuals, react proactively to predictions of doom. They work on the problem before its predicted arrival time. Sometimes they offset it entirely.

Here are a couple of conversations we’ve been involved in recently. Does any of it sound familiar?

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In conversation with a retired engineer. He asked, “What do you think about this driverless car business? Has anybody even considered how many people this will throw out of work? We have to do something about this! Otherwise, joblessness will go so high that it will cause a depression.”

In conversation with a middle-aged family doctor/real-estate investor. He said, with complete confidence, “I’m cutting back on my medical career and moving into real-estate development. Long before I want to retire, I expect my job to disappear due to competition from AI (artificial intelligence).”

Those are examples of doom and gloom thinking, but the ultimate example came on the first day of this century, with the non-arrival of the so-called “millennial bug,” or Y2K for short.

In the late 1990s, computer consultants warned that at the stroke of midnight on December 31, 1999, computers around the world would freeze up because of a problem with their data-storage limits. Computers used to use just two digits to designate a year. So they wouldn’t be able to tell what came after 1999; ‘00’ could mean 1900 or 2000. The problem had a simple fix, however. By the last day of 1999, most computer owners had attended to it, and damage from the predicted crisis was negligible.

In that light, here’s a look at the predictions we mentioned earlier.

Stock predictions for driverless cars

The shift to driverless vehicles will happen gradually, over a period of decades. After all, driving in traffic involves far more surprises than a champion Go player faces on the playing board. Drivers have to deal with changing weather, full sunlight and deep shadow, unpredictable human drivers with varying skills, unpredictable pedestrians, potholes, snow-covered street markings and so on.

Stock predictions for AI

The shift from human to AI doctors will occur at an even slower pace—in line with how long it takes to earn a driver’s license on the one hand, and a medical license on the other. AI will replace family doctors sometime after it replaces the voice and chat help lines that people use when they have a problem with a computer, a cell phone or a utility bill.

People have a long record of guessing wrong about the impact of new technology, and on how long it will take for the new technology to become part of daily life. You’ll guess right much more often if you just assume that technological progress eventually leads to economic progress. You just need to keep in mind that false starts are common.

Stock predictions and “a good time to buy”

Mind you, “a good time to buy” is an opinion on a long-term probability. It doesn’t mean the market will go up right away. For that matter, you may buy just prior to one of the market’s occasional downturns. Successful Investors have to accept this risk if they want to profit from the stock market’s ability to turn middle-income people into well-off retirees over the course of a few decades.

The funny thing is that many people hurt their prospects by going at it backwards. Instead of looking for good times to buy, which are relatively plentiful, they fixate on avoiding the market’s relatively rare downturns. They try to do that by hunting for reasons to stay out of the market.

They want to invest in stocks in principle. They believe in the market’s long-term growth potential. But they dread the thought of buying just prior to a downturn. So, if they see anything that they fear might provoke a market setback, they hold off on buying until the risk has passed.

Master investor John Templeton ignored negative stock predictions and focused his investing strategy on value

Templeton got his start as an investor during the 1930s Depression. At the time, he felt investors were way more pessimistic than the facts warranted. Instead of dwelling on negative predictions, Templeton focused his investing strategy on the low p/e ratios, high dividend yields and other value indicators he saw in the market. In 1939, Templeton famously ordered his broker to buy 100 shares of every New York Stock Exchange stock that traded for less than $1.

He based his investing strategy on the assumption that the entire market was at bargain levels. He felt particularly confident about value in the lowest-priced stocks. They couldn’t be used as collateral for bank loans, and many investment professionals were prohibited from holding them. So there were lots of sellers and few buyers.

Templeton’s investing strategy was correct. Many of his purchases went to zero. But among those that survived, many rose fivefold, tenfold or more. Overall, this investment was a huge success. Templeton went on to launch his Templeton Growth Fund in 1954.

What negative stock predictions do you find most worrisome?

There will always be negative stock predictions. How do you deal with them and focus on improving your investment portfolio?