AI’s true impact will become apparent in the coming year

By Rachana Shanbhogue, Business affairs editor, The Economist

FOR THREE years the world has marvelled at ChatGPT’s cleverness, and more recently, been mesmerised by the creativity of Sora, the chatbot’s video-generating sibling. In the expectation that artificial intelligence will be transformative, large American tech firms poured over $400bn into data centres and other necessary infrastructure during 2025; by one estimate, a staggering $7trn will be spent by the end of the decade. Yet revenues from AI so far amount to a measly $50bn a year, about an eighth of Apple or Alphabet’s entire annual revenues. As the world gets used to the technological feats of AI, the focus is shifting. In 2026 expect its economic, financial and social consequences to grab attention.