The age of AI empires

“AI HAS long ceased to be just technology; it is now infrastructure,” I said in a recent talk. “If it’s so important, why isn’t it making money?” somebody asked. Fair question. On paper, the investment in AI looks irrational. Billions are going in, with no clear profits coming out. Even Meta’s Reality Labs lost nearly $20bn last year alone. So I told them a story. There was a time when railways looked like a terrible investment. Massive costs and slow returns. If you judged them by early balance...