>>But that is not the case for AI. In AI, profit margins are higher the further you get from the end user, see chart below.
This doesn't necessarily mean that the following is true:
>>This is important because it means the AI boom's profits are currently being funded by investors rather than earned from customers.
I think that AI is adding value to customers who are paying for it, but the value is going mainly to the frontier labs and hyperscalers since they, and not applications, are doing the main burden.
> AI is adding value to customers who are paying for it,
That doesn't change the fact that "the AI boom's profits are currently being funded by investors"
> but the value is going mainly to the frontier labs and hyperscalers since they, and not applications, are doing the main burden.
It's pretty clear that "the AI boom's profits" refers precisely to the profits of these entities - which are being funded by investors. The customers aren't paying the full price, it's a subsidized affair, where the burden is doesn't matter in the slightest.
I'm not sure I follow this argument.
>>But that is not the case for AI. In AI, profit margins are higher the further you get from the end user, see chart below.
This doesn't necessarily mean that the following is true:
>>This is important because it means the AI boom's profits are currently being funded by investors rather than earned from customers.
I think that AI is adding value to customers who are paying for it, but the value is going mainly to the frontier labs and hyperscalers since they, and not applications, are doing the main burden.
> AI is adding value to customers who are paying for it,
That doesn't change the fact that "the AI boom's profits are currently being funded by investors"
> but the value is going mainly to the frontier labs and hyperscalers since they, and not applications, are doing the main burden.
It's pretty clear that "the AI boom's profits" refers precisely to the profits of these entities - which are being funded by investors. The customers aren't paying the full price, it's a subsidized affair, where the burden is doesn't matter in the slightest.
It's not an argument. It's a statement of fact
Based on the data represented in the chart
[dead]
Currently, the snake is happily devouring its tail... question is how many vertebrae left until the head?
https://www.apollo.com/content/dam/apolloaem/pdf/daily-spark...
Sam Altman and the rest, still riding the tiger.
Look! The people who jump in saying how much Ed Zitron is wrong are avoiding this thread....
Related:
AI's profits are 'being funded by investors rather than earned from customers - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49243628 - August 2026