Bezos Says AI Investments Will Advance Technology Even If Bubble Forms

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos said investors should not worry about a possible artificial intelligence bubble because the spending will advance the technology over time. Bezos made the comments during an interview on CNBC's Squawk Box. He told host Andrew Ross Sorkin that even if valuations later fall, much of the current investment will produce lasting benefits.

"Even if it does turn out to be a bubble, you shouldn't worry about it because the bubble is driving investment and a lot of the investment is going to turn out to be very healthy," Bezos said.

Companies including Amazon, Microsoft, and Google are investing billions of dollars in AI infrastructure. Industry spending on such projects is projected to exceed $700 billion this year. Bezos noted that the current level of enthusiasm means many experiments receive funding, including some that may not succeed.

"It's because investors at this moment haven't learned yet how to discriminate between good ideas and bad ideas, and that's OK, because the good ideas will pay for all of the losers," he said.

Bezos compared the present situation to the biotechnology sector in the 1990s. He said investors lost money on some projects, yet the period produced useful medical advances. "A lot of investors lost money on certain things, but we still got to keep all the life-saving drugs that they had invented," Bezos said. Bezos stepped down as Amazon chief executive in 2021.