Anytime a new technology emerges, investors rush to debate its economic impact and potential to increase corporate earnings. With A.I., that debate is now well underway after enthusiasm over the technology helped the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite surge nearly 40% in the first half of this year. Some analysts have labeled the run the start of the “A.I. gold rush,” but others warn that investors may be getting ahead of themselves when it comes to highly valued A.I.-linked stocks. These bears argue that the A.I. boom might not pan out as expected, at least for stock market investors, and that could lead to a repeat of the dotcom era bust cycle. But Goldman Sachs analysts aren’t having it, arguing this week that the A.I. hype is justified.
“A.I. probably isn’t in a hype cycle,” Kash Rangan, a software analyst at the investment bank, said in an interview for Goldman’s latest Top of Mind publication. “When a unanimous verdict exists among the technology providers that a technological shift is actually happening, it’s real. And when customers start to become interested, it’s not hype. And customers are interested.”
