Over the nearly three years since ChatGPT’s launch in November 2022, generative AI has created a frenzy that has radiated like the midday summer sun—hot and unrelenting.
And for the AI companies rocketing forth like heat-seeking missiles, including OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Microsoft, Meta, and xAI, the sun is still shining: The research firm Gartner forecasts worldwide AI spending will reach nearly $1.5 trillion in 2025 and surpass $2 trillion in 2026, fueled by integration into smartphones, PCs, and enterprise infrastructure. Elon Musk and other AI leaders continue to insist that artificial general intelligence (AGI)—an AI that can think and learn like a human, across many tasks—is on the horizon.
