New analysis suggests AI data centers may never turn a profit, unless billions of people become paying customers.
A recent article from Futurism raises serious questions about the financial sustainability of the massive investment going into AI data centers. So many questions arise including whether these facilities can turn a profit, but also what kind of economic system might be needed to support them, and whether the scale of this effort ends up pressuring the entire world into becoming customers just to keep the lights on.
According to the analysis, data centers built in 2025 will face about A$40 billion per year in depreciation costs. That means the value of the hardware and infrastructure wears down fast, especially since many core components like chips only last 2 to 4 years before needing replacement. Other parts like networking gear may last up to 10 years, and buildings even longer, but the rapid churn of high-value components means the cost of staying current keeps piling up.
The problem is, these facilities are only expected to bring in $15 to $20 billion in revenue annually. And that’s before you even account for major operating costs like electricity and staffing. In other words, the math already suggests they’ll be running at a loss.
To make this business model work and provide investors with a normal return, U.S.-based data centers would need to generate about $480 billion in revenue in 2025. That’s far beyond current income levels from AI services.
Meanwhile, investment in building and expanding these centers keeps growing. Spending is projected to hit $375 billion in 2025 and jump to $500 billion by 2026. So the gap between cost and income is widening, not shrinking.
To put the scale of this in perspective, Netflix makes about $39 billion a year from around 300 million subscribers. For AI companies to make similar money, they’d need nearly 4 billion paying customers. That’s roughly half the planet’s population. So now you understand why they want subjugate and enslave the rest of the world.
What this really highlights is the brutal economics of AI infrastructure. The hardware is expensive and doesn’t last long, meaning companies must keep reinvesting huge amounts just to stay competitive. That pressure will either push AI providers to massively raise prices, or force them to find billions of new users to stay afloat.
In the short term, it’s the chipmakers and construction firms that benefit, they’re getting paid no matter what. But the companies running these data centers face massive financial risk, and if they can’t close the gap, they may pass those costs on to customers.
So beyond the technical excitement around AI, there’s a deeper question here. If this model doesn’t make financial sense, how do companies survive? Will they push governments to subsidize them? Will they pressure nations and industries to adopt AI just to stay relevant, whether they want to or not?
And if the only way to sustain this kind of spending is by turning almost everyone on Earth into a paying customer, what does that mean for global power dynamics?
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Futurism Article: https://futurism.com/data-centers-financial-bubble
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