The Story 'There's an AI bubble' - but what happens when it bursts?
Aug 21, 2025
Danny Fortson, the US West Coast correspondent for The Sunday Times, dives into the thrilling yet precarious world of AI investments. He discusses Nvidia's monumental value and billion-dollar developer salaries, drawing parallels to the dot-com boom. Fortson warns of the risks involved in the current hype, questioning the sustainability of inflated valuations. With thoughts on Meta potentially downsizing and the stark contrast between AI expectations and reality, he offers a sobering reflection on what might happen when the bubble bursts.
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Money Detached From Reality
- A bubble forms when money, expectations and valuations detach from real-world fundamentals.
- Danny Fortson says we are absolutely in an AI bubble even while AI will still transform society.
Personal Dot‑Com Burn
- Danny recounts joining a dot-com startup after university and getting hired and fired within months.
- The company went bankrupt as venture capital dried up, teaching him how collective mania collapses industries.
Pets.com As A Cautionary Tale
- Pets.com paid for a Super Bowl ad, floated, and collapsed eight months later as a symbol of dot‑com excess.
- Its rapid rise and fall punctured the internet bubble and revealed rampant value destruction.
