Critics warn that the economic sustainability of generative AI will be put to the test in 2026. Current business models may be fundamentally flawed. Despite significant increases in revenue in some cases, many AI companies remain unprofitable and depend on enormous investments and debt-financed data centres. In 2025 alone, around $400 billion was invested, and the trend is rising.
Sceptics such as Ed Zitron and Cory Doctorow see the increasing amount of inferior, mass-produced AI content, also known as ‘slop’, as a sign of the gap between hype and real utility. Rising operating costs and unclear returns are raising fears that a sharp correction in tech valuations could spill over into global financial markets, damaging both economies and investors.
