During the Italian Tech Week in Turin, Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon and one of the richest men in the world (with an estimated net worth of $235.4 billion according to Forbes Real-Time), defined the current enthusiasm for artificial intelligence (AI) as a “bubble.”
“Although AI is currently a bubble, it truly is one of those technologies that will change everything. Like the plow, like electricity.”
Bezos explained that in times of great euphoria like the current one, “every experiment gets funded, every company gets funding, regardless of the quality of the ideas.” According to the billionaire, this scenario makes it difficult for investors to distinguish between valid projects and initiatives destined for failure, noting that many companies raise billions in funding before even launching a product on the market.
Despite the risks, Bezos believes the so-called AI “industry bubble” could have long-term positive effects. He cited the example of the biotech bubble of the 1990s , when numerous companies failed and many investors lost money, but that ferment also gave rise to life-saving drugs. “Once everything stabilizes, the real winners will emerge, and society will benefit from their innovations,” he said, adding that artificial intelligence will transform every industry and increase the productivity of all businesses worldwide.
Bezos isn’t the only one warning about the potential overvaluation of the AI market. Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI (worth an estimated $2.3 billion according to Forbes Real-Time), expressed a similar opinion in August. In an interview with The Verge , Altman stated that “bubbles are formed when smart people get too excited about an underlying truth,” while acknowledging that AI represents “the most important innovation in recent memory.”
Even Elon Musk, founder of Tesla and SpaceX and currently the richest man in the world ($481.9 billion according to Forbes Real-Time), has expressed concern about the rapid progress of artificial intelligence. In July, on X (formerly Twitter), Musk wrote that AI has already surpassed most human capabilities and could become more intelligent than any human within five years.
The debate over the “AI bubble” therefore seems destined to continue, fueled by the diverging opinions of technology leaders who, while acknowledging its risks, see its unprecedented transformative potential.
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