What happens when an innovation boom starts to look like a financial bubble? This week, Elisa sits down with Sarah Myers West of the AI Now Institute to examine the mounting evidence that America’s most influential AI firms may be overvalued, overleveraged, and quietly expecting government rescue if profits don’t materialize. Together, they trace the circular flow of investment between chipmakers, cloud providers, and AI developers, explore why growth projections outpace real-world demand, and unpack how national security narratives are being used to justify unchecked expansion.

Sarah Meyers West is Co-Executive Director of the AI Now Institute

References:

• The AI Now Institute
• Op Ed: Sarah Meyers West and Amba Kak, You May Already Be Bailing Out the AI Business. The Wall Street Journal. Nov 12, 2025.
• EO on Accelerating Federal Permitting of Data Center Infrastructure
• EO on Promoting the Export of the American AI Technology Stack
• NBC: "Trump administration drafts an executive order to challenge state AI laws." Jared Perlo. Nov. 19th 2025.
• WSJ: "Big Tech Is Spending More Than Ever on AI and It’s Still Not Enough." Megan Bobrowsky. Oct. 30th 2025.
• Bain & Company: "$2 trillion in new revenue needed to fund AI’s scaling trend." Sep 23rd, 2025.
• NYT: "Silicon Valley’s Man in the White House Is Benefiting Himself and His Friends." Nov. 30 2025
• The White House Archives: "Remarks by APNSA Jake Sullivan on AI and National Security." The National Defense University. Oct 24 2024.
• RISE Act
• NSLT Ep. 380, "Where Energy Policy Is Headed Next with Tyler O’Connor (Part 1)" July 23 2025.