AI & the Market: A Brief, Sad History

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So, the artificial intelligence thing. Still happening, three years on. People keep asking if it’s a bubble. As if bubbles aren’t just a natural part of being alive. Like breathing, or losing money.

The CORP-DEPO people did a survey, and nine out of ten investors said they’re sticking with AI stocks, or even adding more. Not a lot of panic, apparently. Which is… something. It’s like watching people rearrange the deck chairs on the Titanic, only the iceberg is made of code and the band is playing algorithms. So it goes.

They say AI will create trillions of dollars. Trillions. A number so large it loses all meaning. It’ll probably also create new ways to be lonely and inefficient. That’s usually how these things work. Companies are throwing money at data centers, which are just warehouses full of blinking lights. We build bigger and bigger boxes to hold smaller and smaller thoughts.

Here are three companies benefiting from all this. Not that it’ll make anyone truly happy, but it’s a fact. A small, sad fact.

Nvidia Headquarters

1. Nvidia

The chips. Always the chips. They’re the little metal brains that make the whole thing possible. Nvidia makes most of them. Ninety-two percent, they say. Like they own the future. Or at least, a very large share of it. It’s a lopsided arrangement, really. So it goes.

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They’ve got a backlog of five hundred billion dollars. A number that should give anyone pause. What are they building, exactly? And for whom? Still, investors seem optimistic. They’re lining up for the next chip. It’s a predictable pattern. Hope, followed by disappointment. And then, more hope. It’s the human condition.

2. Microsoft

Microsoft. They’re everywhere. In businesses, in schools, in our pockets. They’ve got a long shadow. And now, they’ve got AI. It’s a natural fit. They can sell it to everyone who already buys their other stuff. It’s a bit like selling extra locks for a prison. So it goes.

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But maybe AI won’t kill Salesforce. Maybe it’ll just change it. Give it new features. New ways to track our data. The stock is cheap, a forward P/E of 19. Analysts still see growth. It could be a good buy. Or it could be another illusion. It’s hard to say. It’s all just… data, in the end. And data, as we all know, is rarely kind.

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2026-01-29 00:34