Radio Atlantic What If AI Is a Bubble?
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Nov 13, 2025 
Charlie Warzel, a tech and culture writer at the Atlantic, dives into the staggering $375 billion AI investment landscape. He explores whether the AI boom is a bubble, drawing parallels to the dot-com era. Discussion points include the heavy infrastructure spending fueling this growth and concerns over revenue gaps. Warzel also warns of potential contagion risks from complex financial deals, and debates the societal implications if AI either crashes or succeeds drastically. It's a revealing look at what the future might hold for tech and culture.
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Historic Scale Of AI Investment
- Global AI spending is reaching historic scales, with projections near half a trillion dollars by 2026.
- Charlie Warzel emphasizes the investment magnitude is hard to contextualize and unprecedented in modern tech history.
Big Spending, Small Returns So Far
- AI has spread into many domains but hasn't produced revenues matching the massive investments.
- Warzel highlights a widening gap between spending and actual monetization from AI tools.
AI's Physical Infrastructure Problem
- Much of the AI boom is a data-center boom requiring vast real estate, chips, and electricity.
- Warzel calls the infrastructure needs 'reverse terraforming' because they demand global builds of data centers.