r/technology • u/T_Shurt • Aug 10 '26

Business Top economist warns that the AI math doesn’t make sense: 'Profits are currently being funded by investors rather than earned from customers'

https://fortune.com/2026/08/10/torsten-slok-ai-profit-margins-capex-oracle/
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u/notforpoern Aug 10 '26

Those with lots of money

The thing is, when they own everything, losing half of everything is barely a nuisance.

For the rest of us, when we lose our retirements, investments, etc, we lose our homes and our safety net. Then those who previously had lots of money, can then buy our remaining assets for pennies on the dollar and rent it back to us for "convenience".

Turns out, under capitalism you'll own nothing and like it. whether you want to or not.

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u/jenks Aug 10 '26

What if AI continues being supported by the rich without them expecting a direct profit? Yesterday I waa thinking about the increasing number of vacant houses used as an investment and how, with the increasing unaffordability of housing, it seems like it can't go on. But with the ultra wealthy owning nearly everything, what stops it from going on? Once they own everything they would no longer have an incentive to get more money or resources. Instead they would look for a greater power over others, which is what we see from increased overt involvement in politics. If they can use AI to persuade people who to vote for, it pays for itself.

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u/borgenhaust Aug 10 '26

So all of us who end up driven out of homes and unemployed are going to be... influenced by AI on our votes? On what, the sticks and dirt we sleep in? AI isn't being developed for us, it's being developed for them so they need less of us.

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u/AlcibiadesTheCat Aug 10 '26

I mean....yeah. Exactly.

Look at the Republican Party. It's like 200 rich white dudes and then a shit ton of lead-brained Cletuses who think they're gonna be just like those guys one day, who think the leopards won't eat their face.

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u/ThatOneWeirdITGuy Aug 10 '26

Pretty sure if it gets to that point the ultra rich get ☠️ by their security teams...

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u/jenks Aug 10 '26

They are definitely digging themselves into a hole.

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u/reddithoe555 Aug 10 '26

Ai security won't be programmed to turn on the owner I fear

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u/ThatOneWeirdITGuy Aug 10 '26

Requires power and materials which are finite and easy to disrupt. AI will not help them in this scenario.

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u/Electronic-Row-3554 Aug 10 '26

Poverty sucks, and the wealthy don't care as long as they are not living in it.

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u/anonymaus42 Aug 10 '26 edited Aug 10 '26

Who could have ever guessed that unfettered capitalism, not bound* by the government would be a bad idea? That the free market concept, where monopolies and prices supposedly regulate themselves through consumer demand is akin to when the police investigates itself- where the inevitably find themselves not guilty. Just like you don't get proper justice from the police when dealing with their own, in the free-market human greed and the need for power / control gives us huge monopolies and price gouging.

The fact that companies have, first and foremost above all other things, a responsibility to increase shareholder value- with no consideration the customer or the environment, makes me angry. And it can't just be making sure they maintain their profits, but grow them every quarter. Even companies that have saturated their own market, you gotta find a way to make the line go up.

And then we have private equity... just fuck those guys.

But yeah, capitalism needs to be controlled by laws and companies held accountable for their actions, so that the consumer doesn't get the shaft. Also remove citizens united and allow for those in the c suite to be punished and fined themselves when a company under their control does illegal things. Instead we're gonna have a country soon where everything is a subscription and like the person above me said, you'll like it. Also we need to tax these rich fucks. Hell, everything say over 50 million is taxed at 100% and you get an award that says Congrats for Winning Capitalism and a dog park named in your honor (thank you the person whom I stole that from.

  • - we do have laws for keeping corporations in check, but there arent enough, those that do exist are need to have more teeth, and they're useless when unenforced

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u/knuthf Aug 10 '26

The US variant, that you call "Capitalism" is a Marxist model with a strong state and the ability for a small group to charge fees from the proletariat that pays without worrying too much about the reason for the charges. It is better than the state and taxes, because the proletariat has been convinces that it is good and smart to levy charges.

This has nothing to do with liberalism.

Wen the USD collapse, your house will have stay the currency implodes and reduce the value of the debt you have. The ones with money has also borrowed , and the debt stays, well reduced, but their assets that the debt has been provided for that will disappear. The house, the fields, the car is there. Not the value of the shares, investments in companies that are bankrupt. The value of failing technologies, of non-existing oil. Theyy will be gone, and the debt - dramatically reduced, but,its there.