They’re just passing the same money around: The circular deals propping up the AI bubble.
The Illusion of Financial Growth
Imagine you give a friend $100, and they immediately give that same $100 bill back to you. You both claim you “made” $100. This is the shocking reality behind the AI boom. Big tech companies invest billions into AI firms like OpenAI. OpenAI then uses that exact same money to buy products and services from their investors. The investor then books this as new revenue, making their stock price soar. It’s a financial merry-go-round creating the appearance of massive growth without any real new value being generated, fooling the market and inflating a dangerous bubble.
How Microsoft used an accounting trick with OpenAI to manufacture ‘growth’.
The $13 Billion Boomerang
Microsoft invested over $13 billion into OpenAI, but here’s the trick: when OpenAI pays Microsoft for cloud computing services, Microsoft gets to count that money as its own cloud revenue. The problem? OpenAI is paying with the very money Microsoft invested in the first place. It’s like a financial boomerang. Microsoft gives money to OpenAI, OpenAI gives it back, and Microsoft declares it as massive growth for their cloud division. This inflates their value and stock price, but it’s not based on genuine economic activity. It’s a clever accounting maneuver that hides the truth.
Why the AI bubble is 17 times bigger than the dot-com bust and what that means for you.
A Crash Unlike Any Other
The dot-com bubble of 2000 was a huge financial disaster, but analysts believe today’s AI bubble is 17 times larger. The dot-com crash mostly hit tech investors. The 2008 housing crisis was bigger, wiping out trillions in wealth. But this AI bubble is different and far more dangerous because it isn’t contained to one industry. AI has infected every part of our lives—healthcare, finance, government, and more. When this bubble bursts, the fallout won’t be limited to Silicon Valley. It will trigger a global economic crisis affecting everyone, regardless of their connection to tech.
$1.3 trillion in promises: How OpenAI is writing checks it can’t cash.
A Mountain of Debt Built on Hype
OpenAI, a company that is set to lose $8.5 billion this year alone, has made financial commitments of over $1.3 trillion for 2025. To put that in perspective, it’s more than the entire US defense budget. They’ve signed massive deals with companies like Oracle, Nvidia, and Broadcom without having the money to pay for them. So, what’s the plan? To pay for these deals by finding even more investors. It’s a high-stakes gamble where the company must constantly attract new money to pay off old promises, a strategy that looks dangerously similar to a Ponzi scheme.
It’s not a boom, it’s a bubble: Exposing the greed behind the AI stock surge.
The Same Old Story, Bigger Stakes
Behind the incredible headlines of soaring AI stocks is a simple, timeless motivator: greed. Just like the dot-com bubble, investors are throwing money at anything with “AI” in its name, hoping for a quick fortune. Companies are making outrageous promises and signing circular deals to inflate their revenue and trick the market. The entire industry is playing a game of musical chairs with the same pile of money. But the music will eventually stop. This isn’t a story of innovation benefiting humanity; it’s a story of manufactured hype designed to enrich a few before the inevitable collapse.
Nvidia, Oracle, and OpenAI: Inside the multi-billion dollar deals that make no sense.
The Great AI Money Shuffle
The deals at the heart of the AI boom are baffling. Oracle is spending billions on chips from Nvidia. Nvidia, in turn, invests in OpenAI. And what does OpenAI do with that money? It buys chips from Nvidia and signs a $300 billion deal with Oracle. It’s a closed loop. Money from one tech giant flows to the next and then back again, making all of them look incredibly profitable and driving their stock prices to the moon. But no real value is being created. It’s a shell game designed to pump up the market, not to build a sustainable business.
Is Sam Altman running a Ponzi scheme? The tough questions nobody is asking.
The Man Who Knows the Music Will Stop
Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, is signing deals worth hundreds of billions of dollars, knowing his company is losing money and can’t afford them. His strategy to pay for these commitments is simply to find new investors. This cycle of using new investment money to cover old debts is the classic definition of a Ponzi scheme. Altman is speed-dating investors and locking in massive deals with competitors like AMD just weeks after a deal with Nvidia. These desperate moves suggest he knows the hype won’t last forever and is trying to secure as much cash as possible before it all comes crashing down.
This is the week AI superpower was declared; here’s why it’s built on a house of cards.
A Kingdom Built on Sand
Governments are declaring their nations “AI superpowers,” pouring billions of taxpayer dollars into the industry and celebrating the record-breaking stock market. But this declaration of strength is built on a fragile foundation. The entire industry is propped up by circular deals, manufactured revenue, and impossible promises. Companies are making commitments they can’t possibly honor, and the market is being driven by hype, not fundamentals. This isn’t a sign of a strong new economy; it’s the final, euphoric phase of a bubble right before it bursts, and everyone is pretending the foundation isn’t made of sand.
Follow the money: How big tech is creating a crisis bigger than 2008.
History Rhymes, But Louder
The 2008 financial crisis was caused by banks making risky bets on the housing market. Today, big tech is doing the same thing, but with AI. They are creating a bubble that dwarfs the 2008 crash by passing money between themselves to fake growth and inflate their value. All of this is happening while the global economy is still fragile. Because AI is integrated into every sector, when this bubble pops, the impact will be catastrophic. It will trigger mass layoffs and foreclosures on a scale we haven’t seen before, making the 2008 crisis look small by comparison.
Why analysts believe we’re on the verge of the biggest financial crash in history.
The Fourth Domino
Over the last three decades, we’ve had a major financial crisis almost every ten years: the dot-com crash in 2000, the housing market collapse in 2008, and the pandemic crash in 2019. We are on track for a fourth one, but this time it’s different. The AI bubble isn’t just one sector; it involves every major company, government, and industry on the planet. The sheer scale of the investment and the interconnected nature of the deals mean that when it fails, it will pull everything down with it, creating a financial domino effect unlike anything the world has ever experienced.
Your 401k is riding on the AI bubble: Why the Magnificent Seven put your retirement at risk.
The Unsafe Bet You Didn’t Know You Made
You believe your retirement fund is safely diversified in the S&P 500, an index of 500 companies. The shocking truth is that just seven of those companies—Apple, Microsoft, Nvidia, Amazon, Meta, Google, and Tesla—make up over a third of its entire value. All seven are deeply entangled in the AI bubble. This means your 401k, pension, and life savings are not diversified. They are dangerously concentrated in a handful of companies fueled by hype. Your financial future is now directly tied to Sam Altman’s ability to keep this game going.
Proof the stock market hasn’t grown in 2 years (if you remove these 7 companies).
The Illusion of a Healthy Market
The stock market appears to be reaching all-time highs, making everyone feel wealthier. But this is a dangerous illusion. If you remove the “Magnificent Seven” tech stocks from the S&P 500 index, the rest of the market has been completely flat for the last two years. This means the entire growth story of the stock market is being carried by just seven companies, all of which are riding the same AI wave. It’s a sign of a deeply unhealthy and imbalanced market, where the failure of a few could trigger a collapse for everyone.
The S&P 500 is supposed to be safe; here’s how 7 companies hijacked it.
Diversification is a Myth
The entire point of investing in the S&P 500 is diversification and safety. By spreading your money across 500 of America’s biggest companies, you reduce your risk. However, that safety net has been completely hijacked. Today, just seven tech companies dictate the movement of the entire index. These companies, all intertwined in questionable AI deals, now account for 34% of the index’s value. Your “safe” investment has been transformed into a high-risk bet on a single, over-hyped sector, and most people have no idea it’s even happened.
Thinking of investing in Nvidia? Why its path to $300 is paved with circular deals.
A Stock Price Built on Self-Dealing
Nvidia’s stock has skyrocketed, and analysts predict it could easily climb even higher. But that incredible growth isn’t just from selling chips; it’s fueled by a clever financial loop. Nvidia invests in AI companies like OpenAI. OpenAI then takes that exact money and uses it to buy billions of dollars worth of chips from Nvidia. This creates massive revenue for Nvidia, which makes its stock price shoot up. It’s a self-fulfilling prophecy where Nvidia essentially pays itself, making investors rich on paper while the underlying business model looks more like a magic trick than a solid investment.
How the AI hype is artificially inflating your retirement account before the crash.
The Calm Before the Storm
If you’ve checked your 401k recently, you probably feel pretty good. The numbers are up, and it looks like your retirement is on track. But that growth is artificial. It’s being inflated by the AI bubble and the “Magnificent Seven” stocks that dominate the market. This temporary high is creating a false sense of security. Just like housing prices before 2008, these values are not based in reality. You’re seeing the peak of the hype, the final moments of calm before the bubble bursts and those impressive gains on your statement vanish overnight.
The illusion of a booming market: what happens when the AI music stops.
When the Chairs Are Pulled Away
Right now, the entire AI industry is playing a game of musical chairs with a giant pile of money. As long as the music of hype and investment keeps playing, everyone is dancing and celebrating the booming market. But what happens when the music stops? What happens when investors demand real profits instead of clever accounting? The circular deals will collapse, the inflated stock prices will plummet, and there won’t be enough chairs for everyone. This isn’t a sustainable boom; it’s a party that is about to come to a sudden, brutal end.
These 7 companies control 34% of the S&P 500; what could possibly go wrong?
All Your Eggs in One Risky Basket
Market diversification is the golden rule of safe investing. But that rule has been broken. A shocking 34% of the entire value of the S&P 500 now rests on the shoulders of just seven companies. This extreme concentration means that the stability of the entire U.S. stock market—and your retirement fund—depends on the performance of a handful of tech giants, all betting on the same AI future. A problem at one or two of these companies could trigger a chain reaction, leading to a market-wide collapse. It’s the definition of a systemic risk.
Apple, Microsoft, Nvidia: Why their ‘long-term growth’ is a short-term gamble.
A Sprint Dressed as a Marathon
Companies like Apple, Microsoft, and Nvidia are sold to us as pillars of long-term, stable growth. But their current success is tied to a short-term, unsustainable gamble on the AI bubble. Their incredible revenue figures are inflated by circular deals and accounting tricks, not by a genuine, lasting economic shift. They are caught in a hype cycle that demands impossible growth, forcing them to make riskier and riskier bets. This isn’t a strategy for the future; it’s a desperate race to keep stock prices high today, even if it means sacrificing tomorrow.
Who pays when the bubble bursts? A taxpayer bailout of AI is coming.
You Will Foot the Bill
When the 2008 housing bubble burst, the banks that caused the crisis were deemed “too big to fail.” Taxpayers were forced to pay $498 billion to bail them out. Today, the tech companies at the center of the AI bubble are far beyond that level. They are so integrated into our economy and infrastructure that governments will have no choice but to bail them out when they collapse. The people who will pay the price are not the executives who got rich from the hype, but ordinary taxpayers who will be left to clean up the mess.
My role was just taken over by AI: What they aren’t telling you about mass layoffs.
The Human Cost of Hype
The headlines celebrate AI’s potential, but the reality for many is a termination notice. Companies are rushing to implement AI not to make jobs better, but to eliminate them entirely. While they talk about “efficiency” and “innovation,” the truth is they are laying off staff and forcing the remaining employees to do more work with less support. This isn’t about freeing up humans to be more creative; it’s a brutal cost-cutting measure. The promise of an AI-powered utopia is being built on the foundation of mass unemployment and increased pressure on a shrinking workforce.
AI was supposed to do the ‘boring’ work; instead, it’s eliminating entry-level jobs.
The Ladder Has Been Kicked Away
We were sold a dream: AI would handle the tedious, repetitive tasks, allowing humans to focus on creativity and complex problem-solving. The reality is the complete opposite. AI is primarily being used to replace the crucial entry-level jobs that have always been the first step on the career ladder. By automating these roles, companies are effectively kicking away the ladder for the next generation. This creates a workforce where it’s harder than ever to gain experience and start a career, widening the gap between the experienced and the unemployed.
Why you’re having to do more work with fewer colleagues, thanks to AI.
The Myth of AI Assistance
The corporate pitch for AI is that it will be your helpful assistant, making your job easier and more productive. In practice, it’s being used as a justification to downsize teams. Companies are cutting staff, expecting AI to fill the gaps. The result is that you are left with the same, or even an increased, workload but without the human support of your former colleagues. You are now expected to manage the tasks of multiple people, all while learning to use new, often imperfect, AI tools. AI isn’t your assistant; it’s your replacement’s placeholder.
I applied to 133 jobs: The brutal reality of the job market in the age of AI.
A Hopeless Search for Work
The statistics are staggering, but the personal stories are heartbreaking. In an economy supposedly booming with technological innovation, qualified and hardworking individuals are applying to hundreds of jobs with no success. The job market has become a brutal landscape where human applicants are pitted against automated systems and shrinking headcounts due to AI implementation. The emotional and financial toll is immense. This isn’t just a statistic; it’s the lived experience of millions who were promised a brighter future but are instead facing a wall of rejection.
They promise a utopia but deliver stagnant wages and unaffordable housing.
The Great Disconnect
Tech billionaires and CEOs stand on stage and talk about a glorious future where AI solves all of humanity’s problems. Meanwhile, back in the real world, the cost of living is crushing people. Wages have been stagnant for over a decade, housing has become impossibly expensive, and the dream of a stable life is slipping away for millions. There is a massive disconnect between the utopian promises of the tech industry and the harsh economic reality they are helping to create. They offer us chatbots while taking away our ability to afford a home.
Why birth rates are declining while tech billionaires promise a golden age.
Too Broke to Build a Future
One of the most telling signs of a society in distress is a declining birth rate. People are choosing not to have children for a simple, heartbreaking reason: they can’t afford them. While tech visionaries paint pictures of an amazing future, the economic conditions they’ve fostered make it impossible for young people to build one of their own. The lack of affordable housing, stagnant wages, and job insecurity means that starting a family has become a luxury. The promised “golden age” feels empty when people can’t even afford to create the next generation.
Who needs a livable wage when you have ChatGPT? The insulting promises of tech overlords.
Your Digital Bread and Circuses
The message from the tech elite is becoming clear: don’t worry about your stagnant wages or your inability to buy a home. Instead, be grateful for the amazing free tools we’ve given you, like ChatGPT. It’s a modern form of “bread and circuses”—a way to distract the population with entertainment and trivial conveniences while their fundamental economic security is being dismantled. This argument is not only insulting, but it also reveals their deep disconnect from the struggles of ordinary people who need a livable wage, not a better chatbot, to survive.
How insurance companies are already using AI to jack up your premiums.
The Algorithm Is Not on Your Side
You may not realize it, but AI is already making decisions that affect your wallet. Insurance companies are aggressively using artificial intelligence to analyze vast amounts of data about you and your community to predict risk. The goal isn’t to help you; it’s to find new, creative reasons to increase your premiums. From your driving habits to your zip code’s climate risk, AI models are being trained to maximize profits by charging you more. This is a hidden AI tax that makes basic necessities like car and home insurance more expensive for everyone.
The Internet used to be about human connection; now it’s just bots and AI slop.
The Soul of the Web is Gone
Remember the early promise of the internet? It was a place for creativity, community, and genuine human connection. That vision is dead. Today, our digital world is a wasteland of AI-generated articles, spammy bots, corporate surveillance, and algorithm-driven content designed to keep you angry and engaged. The human element has been buried under mountains of low-quality “AI slop.” The very tool that was supposed to bring us together has been twisted into a machine for extracting our data and attention, leaving us more isolated than ever.
Why we still haven’t recovered from 2008, and how AI will make it worse.
A Wound That Never Healed
The 2008 financial crisis left a deep scar on our society. Ten million families lost their homes, and trillions in wealth vanished. The federal minimum wage, last raised in 2009, is a relic of that era, even as the cost of everything has exploded. We never truly fixed the underlying problems of inequality and financial instability. Now, we are layering the AI revolution on top of this unhealed wound. The coming AI-driven economic crash will not just be a new crisis; it will be an earthquake that shatters the already fragile foundations of our economy.
MIT study reveals 95% of AI projects are failing to deliver any results.
The Emperor Has No Clothes
Behind the curtain of multi-billion dollar deals and soaring stock prices, there is a dirty secret: the AI revolution isn’t actually working. An MIT research study found that a staggering 95% of companies using generative AI have yet to see any measurable return on their investment. Corporations are pouring billions into a technology that is not delivering on its promises. This is a classic hype cycle where the marketing is years ahead of the reality. The question is, how long can they pretend the emperor is wearing clothes before everyone sees the truth?
Corporations are admitting they’re not seeing a return on their AI investments.
The Buzz is Wearing Off
The initial euphoria around AI is starting to fade. After spending billions and restructuring their companies, executives are beginning to quietly admit that they are not seeing the promised returns. The productivity gains are not materializing, and the costs are far higher than anticipated. This is a critical turning point. When the very corporations fueling the hype start to doubt its value, the entire narrative begins to unravel. It signals that the “AI everything” trend is not a sustainable revolution but a costly bubble driven by speculation rather than real-world results.
Why AI adoption rates are already declining for the companies that pushed it the hardest.
A Trend in Reverse
In a shocking twist, the companies that were once the biggest cheerleaders for AI are now quietly backing away. Data shows that AI adoption rates are actually declining for larger firms. After the initial hype and investment, they are discovering the practical limitations, the high costs, and the lack of tangible benefits. This is a massive red flag. When the pioneers of a movement start to retreat, it’s a clear sign that the promised land they were heading towards might just be a mirage. The AI gold rush may be slowing to a halt.
They’re creating the Hunger Games: How tech billionaires are preparing for the world they’re building.
Escape Pods for the Elite
Tech billionaires aren’t just building AI; they’re building a future that looks a lot like the Hunger Games, with a small, ultra-wealthy elite living in luxury while the masses struggle. And they know it. That’s why they are actively preparing for the social collapse they are creating. They are buying “apocalypse insurance” in the form of secret bunkers, remote compounds, and escape plans to private islands. They understand that by extracting all the wealth, they are creating a desperate and angry population, and they are using their money now to insulate themselves from the consequences.
It’s not a market failure; it’s by design: Welcome to Techno-Feudalism.
The New Digital Overlords
What we are experiencing is not a bug in the system; it’s the system working exactly as intended. We are entering an era of “Techno-Feudalism,” where a small group of tech billionaires act as our new overlords. They own the digital platforms we rely on for work, communication, and entertainment. They are becoming more powerful than governments, and they are using their technology to extract wealth from the rest of us, who are becoming a new class of digital serfs. They convince us we’re lucky to have their tools while they dismantle our economic independence.
While you use ChatGPT, they’re building surveillance tech to use against you.
The Tool is Watching You
The same companies providing you with “free” AI tools like ChatGPT are also creating powerful surveillance technologies. These systems are being sold to corporations and governments to monitor citizens, track behavior, and suppress dissent. The public is being distracted by consumer-facing AI that can write poems and answer questions, while in the background, a far more sinister infrastructure of control is being built. The convenience of AI comes at a steep price: our privacy and our freedom. The fun new toy is also a Trojan horse for mass surveillance.
More powerful than governments: How tech overlords are rewriting the rules of society.
The New Sovereigns
A fundamental shift in power is happening right before our eyes. Tech companies and their billionaire founders are now arguably more powerful than the governments elected to regulate them. They interfere in global politics, build surveillance systems that bypass laws, and control the flow of information for billions of people. They are not just creating new products; they are creating new societal structures where they are the ones who make the rules. We are moving from democracies to digital kingdoms, and we are not their citizens; we are their users.
Why Mark Zuckerberg and Sam Altman are building apocalypse bunkers.
Preparing for the Aftermath
When the people creating our future are secretly building underground shelters, we should all be terrified. Mark Zuckerberg has a 1,400-acre compound in Hawaii with a massive bunker. Sam Altman reportedly has a deal with billionaire Peter Thiel to be flown to New Zealand in the event of an apocalypse. These are not the actions of optimistic innovators building a better world. These are the actions of men who know they are playing with fire and are building a personal fire escape, fully expecting the world they are creating to eventually burn.
Apocalypse insurance: The secret hideaways half of all billionaires are planning.
The Ultimate Exit Strategy
It’s an open secret in Silicon Valley: the ultra-rich are preparing for the end of the world as we know it. LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman claims that half of his billionaire friends have some form of “apocalypse insurance,” whether it’s a bunker, a private jet on standby, or a fortified home in a remote country. This isn’t just a quirky hobby; it’s a calculated strategy. They are actively creating a future of immense inequality and instability, and they are using their vast wealth to ensure they can escape the consequences of their own actions.
They know a collapse is coming, and they plan to leave you behind.
The Great Betrayal
The world’s most powerful people see the writing on the wall. They’ve run the forecasts and played out the scenarios. They know that the system of wealth extraction they’ve built is unsustainable and will likely lead to social collapse. But instead of trying to fix it, they are planning their escape. They are building bunkers, buying remote land, and preparing to seal themselves off from the very society they helped to break. Their actions reveal a chilling truth: they are not trying to build a better future for everyone, but a secure future for themselves.
The French Revolution had a monarchy; we have tech overlords.
A Modern Gilded Age
History doesn’t repeat, but it often rhymes. We may not have a king and queen, but we have a new aristocracy: a class of untouchable tech billionaires who hold more wealth and power than the French monarchy ever did. They control our data, shape our opinions, and influence our governments. While the masses struggle with stagnant wages and rising costs, this new elite lives in a world of unimaginable luxury. The parallels are striking and deeply unsettling, and they remind us that extreme inequality has historically led to only one outcome: revolution.
Sam Altman is speed-dating investors like someone who knows the music is about to stop.
A Desperate Scramble for Cash
The actions of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman are not those of a confident leader building a stable enterprise. He is frantically moving from one investor to the next, signing massive, contradictory deals with fierce competitors like Nvidia and AMD within days of each other. This is the behavior of someone who knows the clock is ticking. He is trying to lock in as much investment capital as possible, regardless of the long-term consequences, because he understands that the current AI hype is a temporary phenomenon. He is grabbing every chair he can before the music stops.
An adjustable-rate mortgage crisis for the AI age: The hidden terms in these billion-dollar deals.
The Subprime Deals of Silicon Valley
The 2008 crash was fueled by adjustable-rate mortgages—deals that started cheap but had explosive costs hidden in the fine print. Today’s AI industry is built on something similar. Companies are signing deals for hundreds of billions of dollars that they have no way to pay for, based on the hope that future investments will cover the cost. It’s a ticking time bomb. Just like the homeowners who were given loans they could never afford, these AI companies are signing up for a future financial implosion, and the fallout will be just as devastating.
This isn’t contained to one sector: Why the AI crash will hit every single industry.
The Contagion Effect
The dot-com bust hurt tech. The housing crisis hit real estate and banking. But the AI bubble is everywhere. Artificial intelligence has been woven into the fabric of every modern industry: healthcare uses it for diagnostics, insurance for premiums, schools for grading, and governments for defense. Every developed nation is “all-in.” Because of this deep integration, when the AI bubble bursts, the shockwave will not be contained. It will trigger a systemic failure across the entire global economy, causing a recession that will leave no sector and no individual untouched.
The Stargate Project: OpenAI’s plan for global AI data centers and what it’s not telling us.
Colonizing the World with Data
OpenAI is quietly building a massive global network of AI data centers in places like the US, Norway, and Abu Dhabi under a plan called the “Stargate Project.” This is an aggressive bet to build the physical infrastructure that will power the future of AI. But it also represents a new form of digital colonization. By controlling the core computing infrastructure around the world, these companies gain immense power over nations and their economies. They are not just building data centers; they are building the foundations of a new global empire controlled by a handful of tech firms.
Nvidia’s CEO had no idea about OpenAI’s deal with his biggest competitor, AMD. Here’s why that’s terrifying.
A House Divided
Just 14 days after announcing a massive deal between Nvidia and OpenAI, Sam Altman announced another huge deal with AMD, Nvidia’s number one competitor. When asked about it, Nvidia’s CEO admitted he knew nothing about it. This is not how stable business partnerships work. It shows that OpenAI is not building loyal, long-term relationships. Instead, it is desperately playing competitors against each other to extract as much investment as possible, as quickly as possible. This level of instability and back-dealing at the very top of the industry is a terrifying sign of the chaos beneath the surface.
From subprime lender to AI investor: The same psychology that caused the 2008 crash is back.
A Dangerous Déjà Vu
In 2008, lenders gave “subprime” mortgages to people they knew couldn’t afford them, all based on the belief that “real estate only goes up.” Today, the same reckless mindset is driving AI investment. Investors are throwing billions at companies with no profits and no viable business models, all based on the belief that “AI only goes up.” It’s a dangerous psychological trap driven by greed and a fear of missing out. We have forgotten the painful lessons of the last crisis and are repeating the exact same mistakes, only this time on a much grander scale.
Douglas Rushkoff explains why the ultra-rich feel powerless to stop the future they’re creating.
The Architects of Their Own Demise
Author Douglas Rushkoff met with some of the world’s wealthiest tech billionaires and made a shocking discovery: they feel completely powerless. Despite having the money and influence to change the world, they believe that a societal collapse caused by their own technology is inevitable. They see themselves as passengers on a rocket ship they built but can no longer steer. Their only solution is not to fix the problem, but to build a personal escape hatch. It reveals that the people in charge are not acting out of a grand vision, but out of fear and resignation.
What happens when AI hype dies? Unfinished data centers and mass foreclosures.
The Ghost Towns of the Tech Boom
Every financial bubble leaves behind a trail of wreckage. After the 2008 crash, we had millions of foreclosed homes. When the AI bubble bursts, we will be left with the modern equivalent: vast, unfinished data centers sitting empty in deserts and fields around the world. These billion-dollar projects, built on promises that never materialized, will become monuments to the era’s greed and speculation. Alongside them will be mass layoffs and another wave of foreclosures, as the artificial wealth that fueled the economy evaporates, leaving only debt and decay in its wake.
Who will buy the products? The question tech billionaires have an answer for (and you won’t like it).
The Logic of a Post-Work World
A common question arises: if AI takes all the jobs, and no one has any money, who will buy the products that companies sell? The chilling reality is that the tech billionaires have already considered this. They have run the forecasts. The answer isn’t a thriving consumer economy. Their endgame may involve a world with a dramatically smaller population of consumers, or one where basic income keeps people just afloat enough to consume digital services. They aren’t worried about this question because, in the future they are building, your purchasing power may no longer be relevant to their success.