Jeff Bezos says AI boom is a bubble that will benefit society

At Italian Tech Week 2025, Jeff Bezos called AI a transformative industrial bubble, unlike harmful financial crises, predicting it will reshape every industry and ultimately deliver lasting societal benefits despite current overinvestment and inflated expectations

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has described the current surge in artificial intelligence (AI) development as an "industrial bubble," suggesting that while some hype exists, the underlying technology is real and transformative. Speaking at Italian Tech Week 2025 in Turin, Bezos emphasized that AI is a generational leap that will reshape industries across the board.

“This is not like a financial bubble,” Bezos clarified during a keynote session. “It’s an industrial one. When these settle, the resulting innovations often benefit society enormously.”

He distinguished this kind of bubble from crises like the 2008 financial collapse, calling the latter economically harmful. Industrial bubbles, he said, may involve overinvestment or inflated expectations, but often lead to lasting technological gains and new market leaders.

“The advantages AI will bring are massive. It’s going to change every industry,” Bezos added, expressing strong confidence in the future of AI-driven progress.

Warnings over job losses cloud AI optimism

While Bezos maintains a positive outlook, others in the tech sector are raising red flags about the potential societal fallout from rapid AI deployment.

Dario Amodei, CEO of AI firm Anthropic, warned that up to half of all entry-level white-collar jobs could disappear within five years due to automation. He criticized global governments for not taking the risk seriously, saying the public remains largely unaware of how quickly the employment landscape may shift.

“We have an obligation to be honest about the pace and impact of this technology,” Amodei stated. “Most people don't see it coming, and that’s a problem.”

Echoing the concern, former Google executive Mo Gawdat predicted that AI-driven disruption could begin as early as 2027. He warned that even high-skilled roles — including software developers, executives, and content creators — are not immune.

“This will affect everyone,” Gawdat said. “The idea that certain professions are safe is no longer valid.”

As the world races ahead with AI innovation, the tension between technological advancement and its societal impact remains a pressing issue — with both promise and peril on the horizon.