Artificial Intelligence (AI) has transformed from a futuristic dream into a booming global industry. Trillion-dollar valuations, skyrocketing chip demand, and rapidly expanding data centers have convinced many that AI will change the world. And in many ways, it will. But beneath the excitement, the rapid pace of investment and financial engineering has raised an important question: Are we living through an AI Bubble?

Just like the dot-com era of 1999 or the US housing bubble of 2008, an “AI Bubble” refers to a dramatic rise in valuations, investments, and expectations-far beyond what real-world fundamentals justify. When these expectations eventually confront reality, the bubble risks bursting.

This article explains what an AI bubble is, how it forms, why it matters, and how investors and industries should view it.

1. Understanding the Core Idea of a Bubble

A “bubble” is an economic condition where asset prices rise sharply because of hype, momentum, and optimism-rather than actual performance and revenue.

In the context of AI:

• Companies are investing heavily in computing power and data centers.
• Investors are pouring money into AI startups at record valuations.
• Tech giants are spending tens of billions on chips, servers, and software.
• Everyone assumes that AI will soon generate massive profits.

A bubble forms when expectations grow much faster than actual, sustainable earnings.

In other words:
A bubble is created when we assume infinite growth based on finite evidence.

2. Why AI Is Attracting Trillions of Dollars

Before calling it a bubble, we must understand why this technology attracts so much money.

AI promises:

• Faster automation
• Better productivity
• New business models
• Breakthroughs in medicine, education, finance, robotics, and more
• Massive time and cost savings for enterprises

Global companies do not want to miss out on a technological shift that could determine the next generation of winners in the economy.

There’s nothing wrong with this. Innovation requires investment.

The issue begins when these investments turn speculative, detached from realistic outcomes.

3. What Creates an AI Bubble?

a. Exponential Investment vs. Slow Monetization

AI models (LLMs, diffusion models, robotics brains) need:

• Immense GPU power
• Large data centers
• Cheap electricity
• High-bandwidth networking
• Engineering teams
• Safety teams
• Product teams

Yet, despite billions spent, AI revenue is still small. Except for a few giants like Google and Microsoft, most companies haven’t found a profitable business model.

If expenses rise faster than revenue, valuations can become artificially inflated.

b. Circular Financing

In a healthy economy, money flows like this:

Investor → Company → Revenue → Profit

But in bubbles, the flow becomes circular:

Investor → Company A → Company B → Company A

Example pattern:
Company A invests in Company B → Company B uses the funds to buy Company A’s products → Company A’s revenue goes up → valuation goes up → investors put more money.

It creates an illusion of demand-when in reality, the cash keeps cycling inside the same loop.

c. Hidden Debt and Financial Engineering

Some companies don’t want to show massive AI-related debt on their balance sheets. So they create:

• SPVs (Special Purpose Vehicles)
• Leasing structures
• Off-balance-sheet borrowing
• Vendor financing arrangements

This makes their main company appear financially healthy, even when huge risks are quietly accumulating elsewhere.

This is similar to the 2008 housing bubble, where mortgage risks were hidden inside complex derivatives.

d. GPU and Data Center Mania

An AI model isn’t just software-it lives inside expensive data centers packed with GPUs. The cost of building these facilities has exploded.

But here is the issue:

• GPUs depreciate quickly
• New generations release faster than before
• The hardware becomes obsolete
• Data center rental rates fluctuate
• Electricity and cooling costs rise
• AI demand is not guaranteed

If the business model does not justify massive capex, the investment becomes risky.

4. Fake Demand and Overreaction to Geopolitics

AI chips also became expensive because geopolitics created artificial scarcity. Restrictions on selling high-end chips to countries like China created a “shortage premium.” Companies started hoarding chips, not because they needed them immediately, but out of fear of missing out.

This artificial demand can collapse quickly once supply stabilizes.

5. AI Hype Across Non-Tech Industries

In the dot-com era, every company rushed to add “.com” to their name.

Today, something similar is happening:

• AI toothbrush
• AI washing machine
• AI refrigerator
• AI hair dryer
• AI fan
• AI cooker
• AI helmet
• AI vacuum cleaner

Most of these “AI-enabled” products do not provide any meaningful intelligence. But companies do this to attract investor money and media attention.

When hype becomes a strategy, a bubble is already forming.

6. Historical Parallels: How Bubbles Usually Work

Dot-Com Bubble (2000):

• Companies grew without revenue
• IPOs doubled on listing day
• “Internet will change everything”
• But most firms had no profits
• Bubble burst when investors demanded real cashflows

Housing Bubble (2008):

• Excessive borrowing
• Hidden risks
• Overconfidence that prices will always rise
• Collapse triggered a global recession

AI Bubble Today:

• Massive capex
• Hidden debt
• Unrealistic expectations
• Companies using AI tag for hype
• Concern that revenue may not catch up soon

7. Is AI Itself a Bubble? Absolutely Not.

Artificial intelligence is real. It is transformative, and it’s here to stay.

But the financial ecosystem around AI may be inflated.

The internet survived the 2000 crash.
Housing still exists after 2008.
But the companies built on unrealistic promises disappeared.

Similarly, AI will remain essential for the next 50+ years-but many AI businesses may not survive the financial correction.

8. When Can an AI Bubble Burst?

Predicting exact timing is impossible.
But bubbles usually burst when:

• interest rates rise
• profitability lags
• capital becomes expensive
• debt accumulates
• growth expectations fail
• competitive pressure increases
• investors look for safer opportunities

If companies cannot turn today’s multi-billion-dollar investments into sustainable revenues, correction becomes inevitable.

9. What Happens If the AI Bubble Bursts?

Short-term impact:

• Stock market correction
• Valuations of AI startups collapse
• GPU and data center prices drop
• Over-leveraged firms face bankruptcy
• Investors lose money on speculative bets
• Hiring slows across tech sectors

Long-term positive impact:

• Weak, overhyped companies disappear
• Strong products survive
• Innovation becomes more disciplined
• Infrastructure becomes cheaper
• AI becomes more accessible
• Industry stabilizes
• Real business models mature

Bubbles clean the ecosystem and leave behind only what truly works.

10. Will AI Still Grow After a Bubble? Yes-Even Faster.

A bubble does not destroy technology. It only destroys bad investments.

After the dot-com crash, the internet entered its golden period.
>After the crypto crashes, blockchain matured and became more regulated.
>After solar energy crashes, renewable companies finally became profitable.

AI will follow the same pattern:

Temporary hype → Bubble → Correction → Sustainable long-term growth

Final Thoughts

An AI Bubble forms when optimism outpaces logic, financial engineering hides risk, and everyone assumes growth will continue forever. But AI itself is not the bubble. The bubble is the money, debt, valuation, and expectation built around the technology.

AI will change the world. But the journey may include a financial reset-one that separates hype from real innovation.

True revolutions don’t collapse after a bubble.
They only get stronger.

Punjab, a key agricultural state, continues to deal with stubble burning, and Punjab’s efforts to control farm fires remain at the centre of public discussion. Farmers often burn leftover crop residue, which creates pollution. Agriculture Minister Gurmeet Singh Khuddian said the state is working very hard to manage this issue and most areas are now free from smoke. He believes the 155 recent fires likely came from small patches of residue in difficult-to-reach fields.

Khuddian explained that the government mainly uses machines to manage stubble. Farmers now see large amounts of collected stubble in their fields. However, he also noted that farmers face economic pressure, which pushes them toward burning. He said the blame for Delhi’s pollution often falls on Punjab, yet people ignore pollution from firecrackers during Diwali.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has asked Punjab and Haryana to submit reports on the steps they are taking. This came after air quality in Delhi and the NCR worsened. A bench led by Chief Justice B.R. Gavai raised concerns about rising pollution and demanded details on prevention methods.

Data from the Punjab Pollution Control Board shows major improvement. Farm fire cases dropped by 70% in 2024. Punjab recorded 10,909 incidents, down from 36,663 in 2023 and 49,922 in 2022. However, this season still saw 4,662 fires, with 58% of them occurring in the last 12 days. On November 1, officials recorded 442 fires, but even this shows a 35% decline from last year’s numbers.

To strengthen control, the Commission for Air Quality Management directed Punjab to create a ‘Parali Protection Force.’ This force works at district and block levels to stop burning. The PPCB has deployed 10,000 personnel across 11,624 villages, including 5,000 nodal officers, 1,500 coordinators, and 1,200 field officers.

These officers guide farmers, enforce rules, and send daily updates through an ATR mobile app built by the PPCB and the Punjab Remote Sensing Centre. This app helps track every action taken against stubble burning.

Additionally, Khuddian said the agriculture department has sanctioned 21,958 CRM machines. These machines help farmers manage crop residue without burning it. Many farmers now understand that burning damages soil health by destroying micronutrients, which are essential for crop growth.

Punjab plays a crucial role in India’s food production, providing a large portion of wheat and rice. Therefore, cleaner air is necessary for the health of both people and crops. Because the state’s farming practices affect neighbouring regions, including Delhi, Punjab’s actions influence air quality across northern India.

Although Punjab has made progress, the battle against stubble burning is not over. Better machines, stronger monitoring, and more awareness can help reduce fires further. Policymakers and farmers must continue working together to protect the environment and support sustainable farming.

In conclusion, Punjab’s efforts to control farm fires show strong progress, but more cooperation, awareness, and long-term solutions are needed to fully stop stubble burning and keep the air clean.

Daily News

New Delhi, November 12, 2025: Punjab and Sind Bank strengthens digital security as it upgrades its fraud-prevention systems to protect customers in an era of fast-growing financial crimes. The bank has introduced advanced technology to detect fraud, stop suspicious activities, and improve overall digital safety for millions of users across India.

Recently, the bank launched the Enterprise Fraud Risk Management (EFRM) platform with the support of Coforge. This system monitors transactions in real time and increases security across digital banking channels. PSB now keeps a close watch on over 4 million daily transactions through UPI, mobile banking, internet banking, credit cards, e-commerce, and digital wallets.

The EFRM platform stands out because it detects and blocks high-risk transactions instantly. When the system stops a suspicious transaction, the bank quickly contacts customers through IVR, SMS, WhatsApp, or email to confirm the activity. Although security has increased, normal customer transactions continue smoothly.

Moreover, PSB has become the first bank in India to block access to digital channels based on IVR responses. This step strengthens customer protection and reduces fraud cases. The system also closes alerts automatically when customers confirm legitimate transactions, making the entire process faster and more reliable.

The bank is also adding new tools like MuleHunter. AI and advanced anti-money-laundering programs. These tools will allow the bank to track unusual behaviour, catch fraudulent accounts, and improve real-time monitoring.

Managing Director and CEO Swarup Kumar Saha said the bank places customer trust at the centre of its digital strategy. He noted that the EFRM platform increases PSB’s ability to detect and stop fraud with speed and accuracy. He also said that the bank will continue improving security for safe digital banking.

Looking ahead, PSB plans to adopt a new AI-powered Financial Crime Compliance suite. This system will use behavioural profiling, device fingerprinting, and stronger login methods such as Two-Factor and Multi-Factor Authentication. These features will help protect customers from new types of digital threats.

Jocata, the provider of the EFRM platform, is a subsidiary of Bill Desk and supports more than 50 financial institutions across India. Founded in 2010, Jocata specializes in digital lending, credit intelligence, and financial crime compliance. Its tools help banks with digital onboarding, customer due diligence, and fraud detection.

Punjab and Sind Bank, founded in 1908 in Amritsar, has a long and trusted history. Today, it operates 1,610 branches, 988 ATMs, and multiple digital units across the country. With more than 10,000 employees, the bank serves millions of customers. As of HY1 FY2025-26, it reported strong financial performance with business of ₹2,41,272 crore and a CRAR of 17.19%.

Overall, PSB’s new technology upgrades reflect its commitment to customer safety. As the digital world grows rapidly, the bank aims to offer a secure, reliable, and modern banking experience. Through these continued improvements, Punjab and Sind Bank strengthens digital security and prepares itself for future financial challenges.

Daily News