AI slowdown calls justified but collapse of bubble may be more immediate threat

There is ample evidence that AI urgently needs regulating. Photograph: Pavlo Gonchar/SOPA Images/Shutterstock There is ample evidence that AI urgently needs regulating. Photograph: Pavlo Gonchar/SOPA Images/Shutterstock Economics viewpoint AI (artificial intelligence) AI slowdown calls justified but collapse of bubble may be more immediate threat Heather Stewart Scale of debt issuance being used to fund the hectic pace of the datacentre rollout by tech firms is a worry

W arnings about powerful and uncontrolled AI have dominated the headlines this past week. But even amid the omens of apocalypse , it is still worth asking if the entire AI-industrial complex is sailing towards a financial iceberg.

It will hardly be our most pressing concern if the bots are poised to take over the world, but a collapse of the AI bubble would have repercussions far beyond the US.