Ray Dalio warned that AI is “eating everything” — but said the boom could also “eat itself” if the money doesn’t add up.
The Bridgewater founder said in an episode of the “All-In Podcast” published Tuesday that AI may not be producing “adequate profits” even as it rapidly reshapes industries across the economy.
Investors often confuse betting on a breakthrough technology with betting on the companies trying to monetize it, Dalio said.
“The technologies will go on, but the companies won’t necessarily go on,” he said, adding that it’s “the norm” for many firms to fail to make money from the hype.
During the dot-com boom, the internet transformed the world, but many early internet companies collapsed, he said.
The billionaire investor also said that with countries like China releasing powerful AI tools at very low cost, it could put pressure on US companies that are spending billions on the technology in hopes of earning large returns.
His comments come as a February report circulating online from investment firm Citrini Research reignited fears about the economic impact of AI, rattling investors and contributing to a sell-off in stocks.
Citri laid out a speculative scenario examining how the AI boom could unfold over the next few years. In the report — written as if looking back from 2028 — the firm imagines a future where AI adoption accelerates rapidly but ultimately proves damaging to the broader economy.
In that hypothetical timeline, the widespread rollout of AI tools leads to a sharp drop in white-collar employment. As companies automate more tasks previously done by professionals, job losses mount, reducing consumer spending and slowing economic growth. The resulting shock eventually culminates in a stock market crash.
The AI boom itself continues, but not in the transformative way many technology optimists, including Elon Musk, have predicted.
“By the end of 2027, it threatened every business model predicated on intermediation. Swaths of companies built on monetizing friction for humans disintegrated,” Citrini wrote.
Some experts have said investors may be overreacting to what is essentially a hypothetical worst-case scenario.
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