Bubble trouble: could the AI boom go pop?

Until recently, tech bosses who invested their company's money too freely could expect to be punished by investors. Not so in the age of AI. Last year, $1trn was spent on AI hardware and software. Spending is still surging, to the delight of investors. The value of America’s stockmarket has risen by $21trn since the release of ChatGPT in 2022. But AI companies and services still only account for revenue in the low tens of billions of dollars. Could that mismatch turn the AI market boom to bust? Hosts: The Economist’s Mike Bird and Alice Fulwood. Guests: Byrne Hobart, author of “Boom: Bubbles and the End of Stagnation”, and Harris Kupperman of Praetorian Capital Management. Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts. Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—subscribe to Economist Podcasts+. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.