The Rest Is Money 223. Is The AI Boom Like 1929 Or The Dot Com Bubble?
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Nov 10, 2025 
Andrew Ross Sorkin, a New York Times columnist and author of '1929', dives into the parallels between the AI boom and past financial crises. He explores how the leveraged speculations of the 1920s mirror today's excitement about AI. Andrew warns about hidden risks in vendor financing and current economic weaknesses masked by AI spending. The conversation also covers potential government interventions and the societal impacts of AI, including job displacement and inequality, raising questions about a sustainable future.
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Leverage Made 1929 Catastrophic
- The 1929 crash amplified damage because widespread margin borrowing magnified losses.
- Andrew Ross Sorkin warns today's AI euphoria lacks that same retail margin but has other hidden leverage risks.
Hidden Leverage In The AI Build-Out
- Today's leverage often hides in vendor finance, energy, construction and private credit, not retail margin accounts.
- Sorkin flags opaque shadow-banking and private-credit marks as the real systemic unknown.
Demand Transparency On Private Credit
- Increase disclosure and map where private-credit and vendor financing sit in AI supply chains.
- Regulators should demand clearer marks to assess systemic exposure before a shock.
