AI BOOM MAY REQUIRE U.S. SPENDING EQUAL TO 9% OF GDP

AMERICA MAY NEED TO SPEND ROUGHLY $3.5 TRILLION ANNUALLY ON AI SERVICES BY 2032 — 8.8% OF GDP — TO JUSTIFY TODAY’S MASSIVE DATA-CENTER INVESTMENT, ACCORDING TO COLUMBIA PROFESSOR STIJN VAN NIEUWERBURGH.

THE RISK IS THAT EXPANDING COMPUTE CAPACITY DRIVES AI PRICES AND MARGINS SHARPLY LOWER, LEAVING REVENUES UNABLE TO SUPPORT CURRENT INVESTMENT.

AI COULD STILL DELIVER MAJOR PRODUCTIVITY GAINS — BUT ECONOMIC BENEFITS DON’T NECESSARILY TRANSLATE INTO INVESTOR RETURNS. ...