AI won't become a bubble as long as everyone stays 'thoughtful and disciplined,' Microsoft's Brad Smith says

https://fortune.com/2025/11/11/microsoft-brad-smith-ai-wont-become-a-bubble/

183 points · 39 comments · view on lemmy.world

39 Comments

minnow@lemmy.world · 143 pts · 299d (2 replies)

"AI isn't a bubble as long as nobody pops it" is such a great example of cognitive dissonance, I'm honestly impressed.

humanspiral@lemmy.ca · 9 pts · 298d (1 reply)

If everyone just believes that the number printed on the green piece of paper is real money, then it is real money.

umbrella@lemmy.ml · 2 pts · 298d
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baggachipz@sh.itjust.works · 134 pts · 299d (6 replies)

Burning billions of dollars per quarter with no path to profitability is definitely thoughtful and disciplined.

Zacsau@lemmy.ca · 51 pts · 298d

And burning through freshwater for cooling and natural gas for powering. Very disciplined!

arandomthought@sh.itjust.works · 21 pts · 299d

Very succinctly put.

discocactus@lemmy.world · -9 pts · 298d (3 replies)

Interestingly, from a macroeconomic standpoint, "wasting" a ton of money by spending it on something that won't ever yield profit but instead goes to pay people's salaries, build infrastructure, and conduct intense focussed research and development of computer and energy hardware and systems could actually be a good thing for the economy. Not for the tech companies per se, but it's a lot more productive than the circle jerking fraud of the mortgage derivatives crisis for instance. Yes, NVDA will eventually correct, but it'll leave in its wake a huge glut of computing power, pumped up local economies across CA especially, and oversized power distribution infrastructure that could readily be used for anything else really.

baggachipz@sh.itjust.works · 15 pts · 298d

"The AI bubble is a jobs program" is an... interesting take.

it’s a lot more productive than the circle jerking fraud of the mortgage derivatives crisis

No value is being created here. It's a circular shell game and it's going to wreck the economy for everybody.

I'm guessing you weren't around for the collapse of companies laying fiber infrastructure, a la MCI and Global Crossing? That was 20 years ago. Some of the fiber is finally being used now, but not a lot.

it’ll leave in its wake a huge glut of computing power

And what, pray tell, will we do with this glut of computing power? They're specifically purpose-built hardware in specifically purpose-built data centers. They're not good for anything else than these LLM models.

Furthermore, the nVidia cards being "purchased" and put in these data centers are rapidly obsolete, so they don't even have a chance of being used in any capacity 20 years from now. It's like saying "let's use 50 i486 processors in 2025" when a MacBook has more power.

But, we're burning more coal to power these, so... 🤷

RedstoneValley@sh.itjust.works · 11 pts · 298d (1 reply)

Highly specialized computing power that nobody needs. These are not ordinary multipurpose data centers. Even if you could use the hardware to run models for, let's say, cancer research: no one outside of the bubble is willing or able to stem the enormous costs of running the infrastructure.

Postimo@lemmy.zip · 5 pts · 298d

I mean they have a pretty solid point. There is in fact not a single way better way that this money could be spent in a time of looming climate catastrophe than re-opening coal plants and wasting fresh water, in the desperate hope that we can make a super being god that will solve the active climate catastrophe. It's basic economics really.

Cris_Color@lemmy.world · 51 pts · 299d

Lmao, yeah I'm sure the for profit companies with no actual monetization model will be very "thoughtful and disciplined"

ZDL@lazysoci.al · 38 pts · 298d (1 reply)

So it's already a bubble, he's saying?

recentSlinky@lemmy.ca · 17 pts · 298d

Yeah, ironically he's not wrong XD

DahGangalang@infosec.pub · 33 pts · 299d

Lol.

Perhaps even Lmao.

WoodScientist@lemmy.world · 25 pts · 298d

He just wants to keep everyone from panicking long enough to offload his stock options.

fubarx@lemmy.world · 19 pts · 298d

Ulvain@sh.itjust.works · 19 pts · 298d

Narrator voice:

"It became a bubble."

l_isqof@lemmy.world · 18 pts · 299d

Why tf are they paying the equivalent value of the GDP of mid-sized country for the service then? They already made it one...

its_kim_love@lemmy.blahaj.zone · 17 pts · 298d

At this point taking his advice might be enough to pop the bubble.

frezik@lemmy.blahaj.zone · 17 pts · 298d (1 reply)

The AI but bubble has been useful for showing how utterly delusional these people are. Don't worry, they're merely in charge of everything.

pdxfed@lemmy.world · 7 pts · 298d

It's not delusion, they know it is not a real product, not real value, etc. but they are paid for companies whose entire future has been built on the emperor's new clothes. Rich powerful people get news interviews, people who don't want to keep up a profitable facade (however temporary) do not.

JoMiran@lemmy.ml · 15 pts · 298d

fartographer@lemmy.world · 14 pts · 299d

"I can't die as long as all you dumb assholes work together to keep me alive forever!"

SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca · 13 pts · 298d (1 reply)

ha. Fuck Copilot.

BurgerBaron@piefed.social · 5 pts · 298d

Microsoft's new Cope Pilot, Brad Smith.

n3m37h@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 12 pts · 299d

Well w habe these things called CEOs which are extremely. over paid which turns them into assholes. So there WILL be an AI bubble regardless of what the average person does

itsgroundhogdayagain@lemmy.ml · 10 pts · 299d

Wall Street is famous for being thoughtful and disciplined.

lechekaflan@lemmy.world · 10 pts · 297d

Microsoft on its way to be the number one marketer for Linux. Because it's becoming anti-creative.

DarkCloud@lemmy.world · 9 pts · 299d

Dumb de dumb dumb.

deacon@lemmy.world · 9 pts · 298d

Hmm yeah that sounds like us.

jaredwhite@humansare.social · 9 pts · 298d

Very demure, very mindful.

pinheadednightmare@lemmy.world · 6 pts · 299d

That’s what someone would say to the people he wants to be holding the bags when it is all done. Lol

Eh_I@lemmy.world · 6 pts · 299d

Stand back everyone, Brad's trying to manifest shit again.

MadMadBunny@lemmy.ca · 6 pts · 299d

"Financial Bubbles are closer than they appear"

hendrik@palaver.p3x.de · 6 pts · 298d

I can hardly hear him through the walls of the bubble... What does he say? It's comfy in there? Everyone get rid of their sharp objects? They're adding more cash into the money cube and turn the fan to max?

altphoto@lemmy.today · 5 pts · 298d (1 reply)

Google has it on the "Normal" search. Duck duck too. Microsoft keeps adding it to anything they can. Meanwhile the users can't stand that shit.

Its useful and I use it. But I don't carry my grinding stone with me. My grinding stone is useful and I use it. I wish my phone would not slow down because its waiting for an AI result. That doesn't translate to make AI faster. It should read "get AI off my screen".

Omgpwnies@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 297d

Google's AI "summaries" are complete garbage. They mash together unrelated sources and hallucinate connections between them to the point where literally nothing it shits out is in any way reliable.

fum@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 298d

LOL!

DarrinBrunner@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 299d

And, not the onion. It gets harder and harder to tell.

queermunist@lemmy.ml · 1 pts · 299d

I do believe in fairies!