The Nasdaq Composite fell almost 5% this week as investors grew uneasy about the flood of capital flowing into artificial‑intelligence projects. Goldman Sachs projects that the five biggest hyperscalers will pour $7.6 trillion into new data centers and other AI infrastructure through 2031, a scale that is now being tested against market expectations.
Researcher Kate Brennan of AI Now warned that many of those firms are turning to debt markets to fund the build‑out, yet the promised efficiency gains have not materialised. A Pew poll shows 40 % of U.S. adults view AI as a net negative over the next two decades, while only 16 % see it as positive. Gartner’s latest study found that companies that replace workers with AI agents often fail to achieve a return on investment, underscoring lingering consumer and corporate scepticism.
Analysts compare the current climate to the late‑1990s dot‑com bubble, noting that some players may emerge with durable advantages while others could see core businesses eroded. Vanguard’s Qian Wang and Kevin Khang say the market will be highly sensitive to how quickly AI demand scales and whether hyperscalers can monetize their spend. Yardeni Research’s capex‑payback test suggests revenue forecasts are still premature, though projections improve toward 2030 if compute efficiency rises. The consensus is a bumpy ride ahead for AI‑linked equities.
