The AI Bubble Is Your Problem Too

The AI bubble is real – even Sam Altman and Jeff Bezos say so – and it’s already affecting you, because fear of the bubble bursting is leading companies to shove AI down your throat. And when it does burst, things will get ugly. If you like this, please hit like and subscribe, and share it with others who might find it useful. Please also consider subscribing to my mailing list: https://subscribe-forms.beehiiv.com/d763645e-9f25-4e6c-839a-da39daa947df Tech Gets Real is a show about staying in control in a time of rapid technological change. I'm veteran tech journalist David Meyer, and I've been covering topics like online privacy and freedom for two decades. In TGR, I provide short, jargon-free guides to help you navigate the new AI era. To contact me, please email [email protected] or connect on: Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/superglaze.bsky.social Mastodon: https://mastodon.social/@superglaze Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/davidmeyerwrites CHAPTERS: 0:00 Intro 0:37 Dotcom bubble comparison 2:14 OpenAI pledges $1 trillion in investment 4:11 Mira Murati's Thinking Machines Lab 5:03 Shoving AI down your throat 5:39 Getting governments hooked on AI 6:53 Uncertain return on investment 8:01 Throwing money at the reasoning problem 8:38 Altman and Bezos admit there's a bubble REFERENCES: OpenAI pledges to spend $1 trillion on AI infrastructure https://www.ft.com/content/a169703c-c4df-46d6-a2d3-4184c74bbaf7 OpenAI is world’s most valuable private company https://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/openai-becomes-worlds-most-valuable-private-company-500b-valuation-report OpenAI’s revenue and losses in the first half of 2025 https://www.techinasia.com/news/openais-revenue-rises-16-to-4-3b-in-h1-2025 AI accounts for huge chunk of markets https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/22/business/stock-market-nvidia-trump.html Business return on AI investment remains uncertain https://www.techpolicy.press/generative-ais-productivity-myth/ Altman’s bubble comments https://www.cnbc.com/2025/08/18/openai-sam-altman-warns-ai-market-is-in-a-bubble.html Bezos’s bubble comments https://www.ft.com/content/8d80f601-4725-489a-8d6e-39099a01f9cb