AI & Tech
AI Industry Spent 1.4 Trillion With Only 50 Billion in Revenue
Breaking Points
6/25/26: Trump Holds Housing Bill Hostage, Trump Freaks Over War Powers, NSPM-7 Crackdown, AI Hype Debate
What was said
"We spent $1.4 trillion on this technology so far as a species, $700 billion of it in the last year. The gross revenues for the whole industry worldwide are $50 billion, which sounds like a lot until you think about how much $1.4 trillion is."
Tech journalist Cory Doctorow revealed the AI industry has spent $1.4 trillion while generating only $50 billion in revenue, making it the most money-losing venture in human history. With assets depreciating on 5-year schedules but being replaced every 2-3 years, the unit economics worsen with each generation. Doctorow argues the spending is driven by tech companies' need to convince Wall Street they can keep growing after saturating their markets.
Verification status
Attributed speaker claim
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Source and context
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- Programme
- Breaking Points
- Episode
- 6/25/26: Trump Holds Housing Bill Hostage, Trump Freaks Over War Powers, NSPM-7 Crackdown, AI Hype Debate
- Clip time
- 2:58
- Original source
- Watch the source segment →
From this episode
Breaking Points