AI companies and hyperscalers' kamikaze spending on data centers may not be profitable. But they seemingly have no choice because everyone else is doing it.
Would anti-data center measures be like an arms control treaty in this arms race? Maybe if they force companies to spend slower it'll actually be good for everyone's finances.
triceratops
The risk of all risks today is wether OpenAI will survive. I just watched Zitron is convinced they will not [1]. Eisman said OpenAI flop will cause recession [2].
And pension funds almost certainly are in the VC funds getting huge windfalls from Anthropic and OpenAI exits.
Also, one can imagine the opposite situation creating the same outcry: "retirees are being frozen out of AI returns".
seizethecheese
If you see this as a problem to be solved, please don't do anything. This is how the normal healthy market works. Leave it alone.
exabrial
Reminder that VTSAX, VTBLX and VTIAX are all you need. 50/25/25 split, as per Bogleheads. (FXAIX, FXNAX, FSPSX if your acct is on Fidelity).
(Also a reminder that target funds are expensive and will sometimes be over-allocated towards hot industries depending on the retirement year "target".)
nunez
The owners of existing data centers might make more money if new data centers are blocked, because there is currently plenty of demand and they will have less competition. Or maybe not. There are a zillion other considerations like this. Do you really think you can figure it out?
For retirement savings, index funds are hard to beat, and it's hard to say whether tech stocks should be over- or under-weighted compared to the index. Tech stocks went down recently, but maybe it's a good time to buy? People who invested in 2008 did well.
skybrian
Heh. Don't worry, by the time those missing savings would really have an effect, they won't be needed; AI will be providing all the basics+ for free. Or things will be so bad that they'd be worthless anyway.
skeledrew
This seems like pure slopulism to me, to be honest. It doesn't back its claim that pensions funds are fueling the supposed bubble, just that pension funds are invested in AI companies. The given solution of completely divesting from index funds (since some AI companies are in the Nasdaq) is also completely unreasonable.
>Are we on the brink of the next financial crisis? Last Thursday, there was a “bloodbath in tech stocks,” as the stock market lost $3.2 trillion in a single day.
Sounds bad, until you take a closer look and see that this was just a 4% decrease.
>In the longer term, with enough political will, we can redirect our retirement savings towards productive investment, such as building out affordable housing and funding the renewable energy transition. For example, NYC Comptroller Mark Levine announced a $4 billion affordable housing initiative in April. Pension fund trustees could follow his lead rather than direct money towards Blackstone, one of the country’s largest landlords and a major fund manager for public pensions.
The slop bells are deafening. I suspect that the author is driven more by political motives than a sincere belief that the AI industry is financially doomed.
matteoraso
Didn't see them complaining when their fund went to the moon tho
comments (10)
teddyh
AI companies and hyperscalers' kamikaze spending on data centers may not be profitable. But they seemingly have no choice because everyone else is doing it.
Would anti-data center measures be like an arms control treaty in this arms race? Maybe if they force companies to spend slower it'll actually be good for everyone's finances.
triceratops
1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YB3XE8mWNF0
2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1dRDj1QRks
novaRom
Also, one can imagine the opposite situation creating the same outcry: "retirees are being frozen out of AI returns".
seizethecheese
exabrial
(Also a reminder that target funds are expensive and will sometimes be over-allocated towards hot industries depending on the retirement year "target".)
nunez
For retirement savings, index funds are hard to beat, and it's hard to say whether tech stocks should be over- or under-weighted compared to the index. Tech stocks went down recently, but maybe it's a good time to buy? People who invested in 2008 did well.
skybrian
skeledrew
>Are we on the brink of the next financial crisis? Last Thursday, there was a “bloodbath in tech stocks,” as the stock market lost $3.2 trillion in a single day.
Sounds bad, until you take a closer look and see that this was just a 4% decrease.
>In the longer term, with enough political will, we can redirect our retirement savings towards productive investment, such as building out affordable housing and funding the renewable energy transition. For example, NYC Comptroller Mark Levine announced a $4 billion affordable housing initiative in April. Pension fund trustees could follow his lead rather than direct money towards Blackstone, one of the country’s largest landlords and a major fund manager for public pensions.
The slop bells are deafening. I suspect that the author is driven more by political motives than a sincere belief that the AI industry is financially doomed.
matteoraso
avereveard