Gary Marcus: bear case for AI strengthens as S&P 493 shows zero productivity gains
GaryMarcus · x · 2026-10-25
Gary Marcus argues the negative case against AI keeps strengthening — even Altman admits the problems are serious with no obvious solution. He quotes Apollo's Torsten Slok: despite massive investment, AI has delivered zero financial payoff outside tech. Revenue per worker and profit margins are flat for the S&P 493, measured productivity growth shows no AI boost, and mainstream corporate America now treats token spending as a cost center and won't pay for the latest models. As long as agentic AI stays confined to a small slice of the economy, macroeconomic effects will be limited.
More from AGI Musings
- Founder: apps should be agents, not apps with agents — the edge is proprietary data plus great UX — xkonjin · 2026-10-25
- Economists working on AI grew 10-30x, yet the field is 'disappointing so far' — soumitrashukla9 · 2026-10-25
- "2027 will be incredible for the technically gifted": AI doom humor goes viral — generativist · 2026-10-25
- Reddit post argues AI is humanity's collective inheritance and should be legally handed back via a trust — Guinean · 2026-10-25
- UK per-capita electricity now below 1970s levels, just as AI demands power — NinaDSchick · 2026-10-25
- Yacine: after DeepSeek, open the weights and 'trust in humanity' — IgorCarron · 2026-10-25