Sam Altman: I think this is the most-fair criticism of Ai right now

Sam Altman told CNBC that AI capital expenditure is enormous and partly wasteful, warning that when AI capex is rationalized it could trigger sharp stock corrections for “pick-and-shovel” AI suppliers. He highlighted that AI capex this year is roughly equivalent to total German government spending and equals about $1 of every $20 of US GDP. Speaking alongside OpenAI’s Stargate Michigan data‑centre plan (a one‑gigawatt campus costing north of $45 billion), Altman balanced caution with bullishness — stressing strong demand for models, coding as a standout use case, and reframing AI-as-job-loss messaging. Markets are at record highs (US SP 500, Nasdaq), but Altman’s comments raise downside risk to AI‑exposed equities if capex is cut.