"This Time is Different": Will AI end up like the telecom bust?

There are historical parallels, but maybe this time really is different

Introduction

I’m not the first person to make this observation, but there are a number of parallels between the hyperscalers’ AI build-out and the telecom companies’ fiber build-out in the late ‘90s. The latter ended in a lot of bankruptcies and consolidation. It’s at least worth understanding the parallels. There is, of course, danger in using historica…