Echoing the sentiment expressed by Sam Altman, OpenAI’s chairman Bret Taylor has also voiced his conviction that the current surge of enthusiasm surrounding artificial intelligence represents an economic and psychological bubble. In his conversation with *The Verge* in September, Taylor articulated a nuanced perspective: he believes that artificial intelligence will, without any doubt, revolutionize the global economy by unlocking unprecedented levels of productivity, creativity, and financial value—much in the same transformative way that the internet reshaped the modern world two decades ago. According to Taylor, the technology’s potential to redefine industries and generate immense economic benefit is real and far from illusory. Yet, he simultaneously issues a cautionary note, warning that today’s feverish investment climate and speculative excitement have inflated expectations to unsustainable levels. In his view, we are indeed experiencing a bubble phase—one that, when it eventually bursts or stabilizes, will lead many investors and companies to suffer significant financial losses despite the underlying strength of the technology itself.
Beyond his role at OpenAI, Taylor also serves as the chief executive officer of Sierra, a position that offers him firsthand exposure to both entrepreneurial optimism and market volatility. Drawing comparisons to the dot-com bubble of the late 1990s and early 2000s, he highlights historical parallels between that era’s internet-driven exuberance and today’s AI boom. In his analysis, a number of companies that collapsed during the dot-com crash were not fundamentally misguided but were instead simply premature—their visions exceeded the infrastructure and technological readiness of their time. As Taylor observes, certain business concepts once dismissed as failures later reemerged as cornerstones of the digital economy once the necessary conditions matured.
He cites Webvan, a now-infamous online grocery delivery service from that earlier era, as a telling example. In the 1990s, Webvan’s model strained against logistical and technological limitations. However, with the subsequent evolution of smartphones, cloud computing, and a vastly expanded internet ecosystem, that very same idea found renewed life in the success of modern companies such as Instacart and DoorDash. These contemporary enterprises thrive precisely because the digital infrastructure—ranging from mobile accessibility to consumer connectivity—has reached a scale and sophistication that Webvan’s founders could only dream of. For Taylor, this trajectory underscores a key insight: while early ventures in revolutionary industries may falter, their failures often pave the way for later, more mature successes. Thus, he concludes, many AI initiatives flourishing today might withstand the turbulence of an eventual correction, even as others disappear. The essence of his message is one of both optimism and prudence—a recognition that profound technological progress and speculative excess frequently coexist at the same historical moment.
Sourse: https://www.businessinsider.com/ai-bubble-debate-business-leaders-sam-altman-bill-gates-2025-11
