What Society Can Salvage From the AI Bubble

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Artificial intelligence is being sold as the future of work, creativity, and productivity.
But behind the hype lies a fragile bubble driven by monopolies, investor panic, and false promises. Many AI companies will fail. The real question is what society will be left with when the bubble bursts.

AI Is Not the Future — It Is a Financial Bubble

Technology monopolies thrive on constant growth. Once they dominate a market, growth slows, and investors panic. To survive, tech giants inflate new “next big things” such as crypto, NFTs, the metaverse, and now artificial intelligence.

AI has become the latest bubble. Investors are told it will replace workers, slash wages, and generate trillions in profits. That story fuels massive investment, even though the technology itself cannot deliver on those promises.

AI is not being built to help workers. It is being built to reassure investors.

From Human Helpers to ‘Reverse Centaurs’

In automation theory, a “centaur” is a human helped by a machine.
A “reverse centaur” is the opposite — a human forced to serve a machine.

Many AI systems are designed this way. Workers are monitored, scored, and pressured by algorithms. Humans exist only to supervise machines and absorb blame when systems fail.

This model does not improve work. It degrades it.

AI Cannot Do Your Job — But It Can Get You Fired

AI tools can assist professionals. They can speed up simple tasks and reduce routine labor.
But they cannot replace judgment, creativity, or accountability.

Despite this, companies are selling AI as a full replacement for skilled workers. The result is mass layoffs and declining quality. Humans are left overseeing systems that are “usually right” but catastrophically wrong when they fail.

This creates accountability traps, where workers take responsibility for machine errors they cannot control.

Why AI-Generated Products Will Be Worse

Replacing skilled workers with AI does not create better services. It creates cheaper, riskier ones.

In fields like healthcare, software development, and media, AI errors are subtle and difficult to detect. As senior experts are pushed out, fewer people remain who can spot those errors.

The public will pay more for services that are less reliable, less creative, and less safe.

AI Art Is Not About Artists — It Is About Hype

AI-generated art is often used to prove that machines can replace creativity.
But most artists already earn very little. Eliminating them would barely affect corporate budgets.

AI art exists mainly to sell a story: that no job is safe.

True art requires human intention and emotional meaning. AI outputs imitate style but lack purpose. They are visually striking but communicatively empty.

Why Expanding Copyright Will Not Save Creators

Some propose expanding copyright laws to block AI training. This would be a mistake.

Copyright expansion has historically benefited corporations, not creators. Powerful publishers and studios would simply take ownership of new rights, leaving artists no better off.

The real solution is not more copyright, but stronger labor protections and collective bargaining.

A Rare Bright Spot: No Copyright for AI Output

US copyright authorities have ruled that AI-generated works cannot be copyrighted.
This matters.

It means companies cannot fully replace human creators without losing exclusive ownership of their products. To protect profits, they must continue to employ humans.

This encourages human-machine collaboration instead of full automation.

When the AI Bubble Bursts

The AI boom will not last forever. Data centers will close. Companies will collapse. Investors will lose money.

But something will remain.

Cheap computing hardware.
Open-source tools.
Useful software for transcription, translation, image editing, and research.

These tools can empower workers rather than replace them.

The Real Fight Against AI Hype

AI itself is not the enemy.
The problem is monopoly power, financial speculation, and labor exploitation.

To challenge harmful AI deployment, critics must attack the myths behind it:

The myth that AI can replace skilled labor
The myth that automation benefits everyone
The myth that there is no alternative

There are always alternatives.

Conclusion

AI is being embedded into society like asbestos was once embedded into buildings — carelessly and everywhere. Removing the damage will take decades.

But the collapse of the AI bubble also offers an opportunity.
If society resists exploitation and demands accountability, the useful parts of AI can remain — without sacrificing human dignity, creativity, and livelihoods.