The Case Against the AI Bubble - Azeem Azhar with Nicholas Thompson
Among the many eye-popping numbers of the AI industry—from trillions in investments to billions in spending—one stands out: $0 in profit among leading AI companies. According to Bloomberg, “never before has so much money been spent so rapidly on a technology that, for all its potential, remains largely unproven as an avenue for profit-making.” That imbalance, and the industry’s reliance on circular financing, has led to fears of a bubble. But those concerns are overblown, according to Azeem Azhar, author of the Exponential View newsletter, who earlier this year released a report on the AI economy.In conversation with Nicholas Thompson, CEO of The Atlantic, Azhar expands on his findings. He says AI’s finances are sound: the demand is there, revenue is growing, and the technology will advance enough to deliver on the necessary ROI.Produced independently of The Atlantic’s editorial staff. Supporting sponsor: PwC.(00:00) Introduction(03:40) Mapping the AI economy through forensic accounting(07:50) How to think about infrastructure spend (16:30) The "J-curve" of AI adoption(24:00) How cheaper tokens will change the market (27:17) China's AI strategy(40:22) Is there something that could break Azeem’s model? (48:34) What could happen when the AI firms IPO (53:34) The effects of the culture in Silicon Valley (56:34) Which bubble-breaker scenario worries Azeem the most(59:16) What Azeem would do if he had an unlimited budget to invest in AILearn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
The Most Interesting Thing in AI
A podcast series examining how AI is reshaping our world. Hosted by Nicholas Thompson, each episode features a conversation with a leading thinker who offers a fresh perspective on the far-reaching ethical, economic, and social implications of this technology.This podcast is from The Atlantic’s CEO and is produced independently of The Atlantic’s editorial staff. Some episodes have a supporting sponsor. Those episodes are clearly labeled and the sponsor is named.
- No. of episodes: 42
- Latest episode: 2026-09-30
- Technology
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