Data-center spending now tops canals, railroads and grid combined at 3.63% of GDP
kimmonismus · x · 2026-09-24
kimmonismus cites figures showing AI data-center spending exceeds that of canals, railroads and the power grid combined. AI infrastructure investment is projected to average 3.63% of GDP annually from 2025 to 2032 — far above railroads' 2.24% during their build-out, highways' 1.13%, and telecom/fiber's 1.1%. The author calls it the biggest investment bet in history, one that is arguably "too big to fail."
More from AGI Musings
- UK's new AI Economics Institute hiring up to 15 research economists — TaniaBabina · 2026-11-11
- Not Boring: the three arguments that AI isn't a bubble are exactly how bubbles form — Not Boring (Packy McCormick) · 2026-11-11
- Viral post: five years of 'maybe next year,' then 2026 arrived — hey_abusiddik · 2026-11-11
- Jeremy Howard: LLMs "cosplay understanding," like the man in Searle's Chinese room — Machine Learning Street Talk · 2026-11-11
- 'Chat with your data' misses the point — people want a smart coworker — vboykis · 2026-11-11
- Ben Todd: AI task time horizons appear superexponential in AECI, not just revenue — ben_j_todd · 2026-11-11