Will the bubble burst for AI in 2025, or will it start to deliver?

By Rachana Shanbhogue, Business affairs editor, The Economist

It may be the biggest gamble in business history. Today’s mania for artificial intelligence (AI) began with the launch of ChatGPT at the end of November 2022. OpenAI’s chatbot attracted 100m users within weeks, faster than any product in history. Investors also piled in. Spending on AI data centres between 2024 and 2027 is expected to exceed $1.4trn; the market value of Nvidia, the leading maker of AI chips, has increased eight-fold, to more than $3trn.