AI boom or bubble?

Counting the Cost

A tech sell-off has raised questions about AI spending and the risks to jobs and growth across the global economy.

Great inventions have often brought a rush of investment. Sometimes, it ends in a crash.

Some experts fear artificial intelligence is heading the same way.

Hundreds of billions of dollars are pouring into AI,  far ahead of the profits it can deliver.

Last week, investors blinked.

The Democratic Party swept the US midterm elections, and some of its candidates had called for tighter rules on data centres that power AI.

Fears of a slower buildout wiped trillions of dollars off stock markets. They have only partly recovered.

The stakes reach far beyond Wall Street. Pensions and growth are riding on the AI boom.

Published On 11 Nov 2026