Premium: What If...We're In An AI Bubble? (Part 1)
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A deep-dive opinion piece arguing that the AI industry is in a speculative bubble propped up by subsidized pricing, magical thinking, and unsustainable economics. Key claims include: most AI products are sold at massive losses via flat-rate subscriptions that hide true token costs; GitHub Copilot users routinely burned 10-30x their subscription value; Microsoft's shift to token-based billing on June 1, 2026 will trigger a cascade forcing other AI companies to do the same; enterprises are burning through token budgets without clear ROI; and OpenAI/Anthropic revenues are artificially inflated by exploratory, directionless spending. The piece uses a Marvel 'What If?' framing to explore scenarios like token-based billing killing consumer AI apps, organizations cutting AI spend, and data centers not actually coming online — arguing these interconnected failures could trigger a broader market collapse.