Perspective
Artificial-intelligence investment is no longer a narrow technology story. It is helping drive construction, equipment purchases and economic growth. The latest US data showed 3.4 per cent annualised growth in the third quarter, with AI-related investment among the contributors.
But capital spending is an input, not proof of durable productivity. Amazon’s plan to spend about $220 billion this year, largely on AI data centres, shows the scale of the wager. Investors and policymakers should now demand clearer evidence that the infrastructure lowers costs, creates useful services and spreads gains beyond a handful of firms.
The sensible test is not whether spending keeps rising. It is whether output per worker, competition and real-world service quality rise with it.
Sources: Associated Press on US growth; Associated Press on Amazon’s investment.
