Palihapitiya: AI Boom May Be History's Biggest Mistake

Venture capitalist Chamath Palihapitiya warns that AI's massive investment wave may not be delivering real financial returns. While infrastructure sellers like Nvidia thrive, the S&P 493 has seen only 0-2% of earnings growth actually driven by AI productivity, with the rest coming from inflation and buybacks. A PwC survey reinforces the concern: 56% of CEOs report AI has neither raised revenue nor cut costs, and only 12% saw both outcomes. As AI spending moves from innovation budgets into core operations, CFOs are demanding proof of returns — and the results so far are falling dangerously short of the hype.