Generative AI might end up being worthless
Generative AI has yet to deliver the productivity gains needed to justify its high operating costs, leading analysts to project a large revenue shortfall for major AI firms. Companies such as OpenAI are incurring substantial expenses per user query and are exploring advertising as a potential revenue source, though its effectiveness remains uncertain. Ongoing copyright disputes and licensing costs further threaten the profitability of generative‑AI ventures.
- ▪Current estimates suggest big AI firms face an $800 billion revenue shortfall.
- ▪Productivity gains from generative AI have been minimal and are largely confined to programmers and copywriters.
- ▪OpenAI’s CEO Sam Altman has acknowledged that even paid‑pro accounts lose money because each ChatGPT query costs the company millions.
- ▪OpenAI is considering adding advertisements to ChatGPT, but it is unclear whether ad revenue will offset the massive computing expenses.
- ▪Copyright lawsuits and costly licensing agreements are creating additional financial liabilities for AI startups.
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The OpenAI logo is displayed on a cell phone with an image on a computer monitor generated by ChatGPT’s Dall-E text-to-image model in 2023 in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer) Generative AI might end up being worthless — and that could be a good thing Published: September 28, 2025 1:03pm EDT https://theconversation.com/generative-ai-might-end-up-being-worthless-and-that-could-be-a-good-thing-266046 https://theconversation.com/generative-ai-might-end-up-being-worthless-and-that-could-be-a-good-thing-266046 Link copied Share article Share article Copy link Email Bluesky Facebook WhatsApp Messenger LinkedIn X (Twitter) Print article In the rush to cash in on the generative artificial intelligence gold rush, one possible outcome of AI’s future rarely gets discussed: what if the technology…
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