Apollo chief economist Torsten Slok goes bearish: firms don't need frontier AI models
inductionheads · x · 2026-10-26
Apollo chief economist Torsten Slok published a bearish AI report: mainstream firms don't need the latest models and won't pay for them, treating token spending as a margin-crushing cost center; TFP growth sits near 0% and AI's macro effect will stay limited, confined to a small slice of firms; cheaper commoditized models won't close the gap since business value depends on judgment, accountability, trust and unwritten rules. Rohan Paul disagrees, citing other signals; InverseMarcus adds the "Schrödinger's AI models" paradox — good enough that businesses don't need better ones, yet lacking so much they aren't useful.
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