The World Unpacked AI’s Biggest Skeptic Sees a Bubble
Nov 21, 2025
Ed Zitron, a tech commentator known for his critical insights on AI finances, shares his views on the current AI investment frenzy. He argues that the explosive spending could lead to a market crash, warning of potential risks to retail investors and the broader economy. Ed discusses the limitations of large language models and their unsustainable business economics. He critiques major tech firms' opaque AI revenue reporting and challenges the notion that advertising could save AI profitability. The conversation raises critical questions about the future of AI amidst this financial bubble.
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Early Skepticism Rooted In Hype And Hidden Losses
- Ed Zitron found mass excitement for AI despite seeing little public financial transparency or clear product superiority.
- He traced early skepticism to the cult-like reaction around Sam Altman's firing and pervasive company losses.
LLMs Are Probabilistic And Unreliable
- Zitron argues LLMs are probabilistic, unreliable, and rely on prompt engineering rather than precision.
- He warns models often fail to reproduce correct outputs consistently and have significant limitations.
Using ChatGPT For Personal Tax Questions
- Jon Bateman described using ChatGPT to decide whether to file taxes jointly or separately by inputting his numbers for a sanity check.
- Ed Zitron replied that this is effectively a more sophisticated version of search and cautioned against relying on it for high-stakes advice.