"But all would be wise to remember that the AI bubble is a financial phenomenon, not a technological one. Assuming they go together could be making an expensive mistake. We've seen it before. When the internet bubble popped-the S&P plunged 49% in 31 months-many people concluded more or less, "You see? That internet thing was a big nothing." Obviously they were wrong. The market had a seizure, and companies that were flimsily financed failed, but the technology continued to change the world."
"Now AI, the next general-purpose technology after the internet, will transform the world even more than the internet did, regardless of the market's mood. Business leaders must pull their eyes away from the sea of red flashing across Wall Street and stay focused on preparing their organizations for staggering changes. Here are three questions as thought starters, at increasing levels of mind blowing:"
"- When will your company's agentic AI disburse money all by itself? At Fortune 's latest Emerging CFO program last week, I asked three CFOs if they were letting AI do that already. Their answers ranged from "No" to "No!" But after thinking for a few moments, one of them said, "Within certain guardrails I think absolutely you'll get there, especially on low-dollar, low-risk transactional type of things. I can certainly see that being a case." Rethinking the impossible will have to become a habit."
Stock-market declines and investor sell-offs have produced concern about an AI bubble, but the bubble represents financial speculation rather than the technology’s intrinsic value. Historical precedent with the internet shows that a market collapse did not stop the underlying technology from changing the world. AI, as the next general-purpose technology, will likely reshape industries and societies even more profoundly than the internet did. Business leaders should ignore short-term market noise and focus on preparing organizations for large operational and strategic changes. Practical considerations include when agentic AI will autonomously disburse funds and whether organizations are ready for the prospect of artificial general intelligence. Rethinking the impossible must become a habitual management practice.
Read at Fortune
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