This AI bubble is rapidly accelerating and it will take the entire market (and global economy) down with it. And while Sam Altman didn’t singlehandedly ignite the new silicon arms race, OpenAI (and ChatGPT) did usher in the era we are now living in.
Much was said about Nvidia overtaking Microsoft today to become the world’s most valuable company, but take a look at the top 3:
They are ALL beneficiaries of partnerships with OpenAI. Microsoft added a trillion dollars of market cap since partnering with them last year and Apple hit new all time highs after their announcement that ChatGPT will power “Apple Intelligence”. And Nvidia? Well, they were just a $300 billion dollar video game card maker 5 years ago and now they are the biggest company on earth because their cards train AI models.
I’m just flabbergasted at how quickly and thoroughly the promises made by one small startup has become the economic backbone of the entire stock market. The bubble popping for this hype cycle will be one for the ages.
Capitalism is such an evolutionary dead end.
Ok so let’s look at the problems facing our species currently and in the near future.
Pandemics and constant disease with expensive or non-existent healthcare: Capitalism can’t do anything about it without taking power away from corporations. So, no solution
Poverty, food prices, housing, etc: Same thing.
Environmental collapse due to exploiting the planet for profit: Again, same thing. Wait, capitalism caused this one too? I’m starting to see a pattern.
Mental health at an all time low with depression reaching epidemic levels: Same story yet again.
And the list goes on, you can look at anything from bad workplace conditions to child labour Labor to microplastics and it’s the same story. Every problem is with caused or ignored by capitalism, usually both. It’s death for our species.
If I had a nickel for every time a “Sam ____man” was a very influential figure in a speculative bubble, I’d have two nickels. Which isn’t a lot but it’s weird that it happened twice
That’s how much capitalists value the promise of AI decimating labor costs.
And Nvidia? Well, they were just a $300 billion dollar video game card maker 5 years ago
That’s not entirely accurate. They may have had a $300 billion market cap but they were also a critical component of the Crypto supply chain. NVIDIA, more than basically everyone else except electricity companies, has been the primary beneficiary of two grifts in a row.
Actually allow me to argue for a second that it’s really NVIDIA behind this bubble and not OpenAI. OpenAI might have been the flintstone that ignited the bubble but NVIDIA has been there investing in companies that turn around and give the money back to NVIDIA.
A bunch of nerds think it’s possible to improve society through tech startups. The logic of capitalism ensures that whatever social benefit gets in the way of profit will be stripped out. But that doesn’t just automatically happen because capitalism, someone has to actually be involved in the decision making process, making that happen. Sam Altman is a world champion at being that guy.
