TZUTC: -0500   
   MSGID: 2038.consprcy@1:2320/105 2dd8c660   
   PID: Synchronet 3.21a-Linux master/123f2d28a Jul 12 2025 GCC 12.2.0   
   TID: SBBSecho 3.28-Linux master/123f2d28a Jul 12 2025 GCC 12.2.0   
   BBSID: CAPCITY2   
   CHRS: ASCII 1   
   FORMAT: flowed   
   Its not a bubble, were surfing the AI wave   
      
   Date:   
   Thu, 22 Jan 2026 15:07:36 +0000   
      
   Description:   
   Is AI hype a fleeting bubble or a sustained wave reshaping business and   
   technology?   
      
   FULL STORY   
      
   Every technological revolution brings both opportunity and uncertainty. The   
   rapid rise of AI is no exception. Its no wonder, then, that alongside the   
   excitement and experimentation comes a familiar question: are we heading   
   towards an AI bubble - and what would happen if it burst?    
      
   Investment in AI has accelerated across predictive, generative, and agentic   
   technologies as organizations race to capture value. Slaloms research shows   
   that 62% of UK&I executives expect a return on AI investment within just two   
   years, a level of impatience that echoes the early days of the internet boom.    
      
   Media narratives mirror this tension, fluctuating between optimism and   
   warnings of a dot-com style correction.    
      
   The real test now is whether AI can consistently deliver measurable impact    
   and move from promise to performance.   
      
   AI: Is it a bubble?    
      
   A tech bubble typically refers to over-inflated valuations caused by   
   speculation rather than fundamentals. In this case, among companies    
   developing and delivering AI technology.    
      
   Naturally, share prices fluctuate in every sector, but tech stocks often   
   remain attractive thanks to ongoing innovation. When interest spikes,   
   investment follows and anything tied to the latest buzzword risks becoming   
   overvalued.    
      
   The smaller players especially are most exposed whether through investor   
   overreach or simply the speed of change of AI evolution outdating products.    
   At the same time, new, large players are emerging that could challenge the   
   future AI landscape.    
      
   The largest technology firms continue to lead the charge. Alphabet,    
   Microsoft, Amazon, and Meta are expected to invest nearly $370 billion in   
   AI-related initiatives this year, a level underpinned by stable growth,    
   strong financials, and operational efficiencies.    
      
   Others are seeing similar momentum; NVIDIAs record revenues reflect real   
   demand for compute infrastructure , and Sam Altman recently claimed that   
   OpenAI will reach an annualized run rate revenue of $20 billion in 2025 and   
   has plans to reach hundreds of billions in sales by 2030.    
      
   This lays the groundwork for an IPO with the potential value of up to $1   
   trillion. If Altmans claim is accurate, this potential price to earnings    
   ratio of 50x, while very high, is not unheard of for high growth technology   
   companies with a strong competitive advantage.    
      
   Even policymakers see this as a structural shift rather than speculation.   
   Federal Reserve chair, Jerome Powell, recently described the current surge in   
   AI investment as the beginning of real, profitable businesses  capable of   
   driving sustained economic growth.    
      
   Encouraging as this may be, it only makes the competition for success    
   fiercer. The race to turn AI capability into tangible business impact is   
   accelerating and only those who can demonstrate value quickly will maintain   
   momentum.   
      
   AI: Is it a wave?    
      
   There's no denying the speed and scale of change. The surge of innovation and   
   investment in AI feels overwhelming and that intensity naturally suggests   
   comparisons to a bubble. But if this momentum isnt building toward a burst,    
   is it instead a building into a wave?    
      
   With this much hype, its essential to separate substance from noise. Some AI   
   development is being driven by fear of missing out or board-level mandates   
   rather than a clear understanding of value.    
      
   Building for the sake of jumping on a trend risks wasted investments and   
   reinforces the perception of a bubble, even when underlying progress remains   
   solid.    
      
   Across the industry, however, were seeing AI fundamentally reshape how   
   software is delivered, modernized, and scaled. The tools and practices   
   emerging today are shortening development cycles, accelerating legacy   
   modernization, and enabling new forms of automation that simply werent   
   possible two years ago. In our work with customers, these capabilities are   
   already unlocking productivity gains and helping organizations deliver value   
   faster and more reliably.    
      
   Experimentation remains essential but it must be grounded in a realistic view   
   of business outcomes. Some initiatives will fail, as they should in a healthy   
   innovation cycle. Others will redefine how companies operate and compete.    
      
   Slalom data shows 64% of UK&I organizations are creating or planning new   
   AI-related roles, outpacing expectations of workforce reduction. This   
   reinforces what economists call Luddite Fallacy  that technological change   
   tends not to eliminate work long term, but to reshape it and create new forms   
   of opportunity.    
      
   The pace of change shows no sign of slowing. Most individuals and   
   organizations have only begun to explore AIs full potential. Its ubiquity,   
   spanning every role, industry and daily workflow, ensures adoption will    
   deepen rather than decline.    
      
   As valuations stabilize and early-stage hype settles, todays bubble will look   
   more like the progress of a sustained wave of transformation.   
      
   AI: In summary    
      
   AI investment trends show characteristics of a speculative bubble, rapid   
   funding, media hype, and inevitable comparisons to the dot-com era. However,   
   AI is already delivering measurable value.    
      
   Organizations are moving beyond pilot projects into production-scale   
   deployments, embedding AI in operations, customer engagement, and   
   decision-making. The coming phase will test which innovations endure, but the   
   broader trajectory points to sustained transformation, not collapse.    
      
   Were not watching a bubble inflate; were surfing a powerful, sustained wave    
   of technological change.    
      
    This article was produced as part of TechRadarPro's Expert Insights channel   
   where we feature the best and brightest minds in the technology industry   
   today. The views expressed here are those of the author and are not   
   necessarily those of TechRadarPro or Future plc. If you are interested in   
   contributing find out more here:   
   https://www.techradar.com/news/submit-your-story-to-techradar-pro   
      
   ======================================================================   
   Link to news story:   
   https://www.techradar.com/pro/its-not-a-bubble-were-surfing-the-ai-wave   
      
   $$   
   --- SBBSecho 3.28-Linux   
    * Origin: Capitol City Online (1:2320/105)   
   SEEN-BY: 105/81 106/201 128/187 129/14 305 153/7715 154/110 218/700   
   SEEN-BY: 226/30 227/114 229/110 134 206 300 307 317 400 426 428 470   
   SEEN-BY: 229/664 700 705 266/512 291/111 320/219 322/757 342/200 396/45   
   SEEN-BY: 460/58 633/280 712/848 902/26 2320/0 105 304 3634/12 5075/35   
   PATH: 2320/105 229/426