Marketplace Tech Bytes: Week in Review – Are we in an AI bubble?
8 snips
Jan 30, 2026 David A. Kirsch, historian and management professor at the University of Maryland and co-author of Bubbles and Crashes, joins to compare AI to past tech booms. He outlines a four-factor bubble model and explains why technological uncertainty, infrastructure limits, investor makeup, and powerful narratives matter. He also considers how AI’s AGI talk and market structure stack up against historical patterns.
AI Snips
Chapters
Books
Transcript
Episode notes
Four-Factor Bubble Recipe
- Bubbles form when uncertainty, novice investors, investable vehicles, and compelling narratives align.
- David Kirsch says that combination can produce booms that may become busts if value doesn't arrive in investors' timeframes.
Why Tech Sparks Bigger Bubbles
- Technological change is uniquely prone to bubbles because it destroys existing expertise and creates deep uncertainty.
- Kirsch emphasizes that nobody truly knows how AI will reshape a complex capitalist economy since this is the first time it is happening at this scale.
Infrastructure As The Bubble Clock
- Infrastructure acts as a timekeeper for technological booms by controlling diffusion and adoption speed.
- Kirsch argues we won't fully know AI's value until infrastructure and organizational adoption mature over time.
