In an unexpected alliance, Hollywood star Ben Affleck and legendary investor Michael Burry have emerged as prominent skeptics of the AI boom, questioning the massive valuations and capital expenditures driving the artificial intelligence industry. Speaking on “The Joe Rogan Experience” podcast, Affleck challenged the grand claims surrounding AI technology, suggesting that much of the hype stems from companies attempting to justify enormous investments in data centers and infrastructure.
Affleck argued that tech companies are overpromising on AI capabilities to warrant their capital expenditure spending, claiming that “a lot of that rhetoric comes from people who are trying to justify valuations around companies.” The Oscar-winning screenwriter and director noted that historical technology adoption has been “slow” and incremental, contradicting promises of revolutionary change within two years. He pointed out that each subsequent AI model shows only moderate improvements while requiring exponentially more electricity and data to operate.
The “Good Will Hunting” writer was particularly critical of AI-generated content quality, calling the writing produced by today’s chatbots “really shitty” and “not reliable.” Affleck predicted that while filmmakers might use AI as a cost-saving tool similar to visual effects, it likely won’t “write anything meaningful” or produce entire movies independently. He also expressed concern about AI chatbots being used primarily as virtual companions rather than productivity tools, questioning the social value of people engaging with sycophantic AI friends.
Michael Burry, famous for predicting the 2008 housing crisis as depicted in “The Big Short,” enthusiastically endorsed Affleck’s analysis on X (formerly Twitter), writing that the actor is “clearly a smart guy” and his comments sounded “familiar and on point.” After returning from a two-year social media hiatus, Burry has issued multiple warnings about a dangerous AI bubble, recently closing his hedge fund to outside investors to focus on financial analysis.
Burry’s central thesis maintains that AI stocks are significantly overvalued, with companies overinvesting in microchips and data centers that will rapidly become obsolete. He predicts that AI technology will become commoditized without yielding adequate returns, leading to massive writedowns and sharp stock declines. In a recent post, Burry warned that “return on investment will continue to fall, almost all AI companies will go bankrupt, and much of the AI spending will be written off.”
Key Quotes
I think a lot of that rhetoric comes from people who are trying to justify valuations around companies, where they go: ‘We’re going to change everything in two years, there’s going to be no more work.’
Ben Affleck explained on Joe Rogan’s podcast why he believes AI companies are overhyping their technology’s capabilities, suggesting the grand promises are primarily designed to justify massive capital expenditures and inflated valuations rather than reflecting realistic technological timelines.
Well, the reason they’re saying that is because they need to ascribe a valuation for investment that can warrant the capex spend they’re going to make on these data centers.
Affleck connected AI hype directly to financial motivations, arguing that companies need to promise revolutionary change to justify the billions being spent on infrastructure investments, revealing the economic pressures driving optimistic AI narratives.
Ben Affleck is clearly a smart guy. So this does not surprise me. It sounds familiar and on point.
Michael Burry endorsed Affleck’s AI skepticism on X, lending his credibility as the investor who successfully predicted the 2008 housing crisis to the actor’s critique of AI valuations and industry hype.
Return on investment will continue to fall, almost all AI companies will go bankrupt, and much of the AI spending will be written off.
Burry’s stark prediction on X summarizes his bearish thesis on the AI sector, warning of widespread corporate failures and massive financial writedowns as the gap between investment and returns becomes unsustainable.
Our Take
The Affleck-Burry alliance represents a critical inflection point in AI discourse, where skepticism is moving from fringe to mainstream. What makes this particularly noteworthy is the convergence of perspectives: Affleck brings creative industry expertise showing AI’s current limitations in content generation, while Burry provides financial analysis suggesting the business model is unsustainable.
Their critique targets the fundamental economics of the AI boom—that incremental improvements requiring exponential resource increases cannot justify current valuations. This echoes historical tech bubbles where infrastructure investment preceded viable business models. However, dismissing AI entirely may be premature; the technology could still prove transformative on longer timelines than currently priced in. The real question is whether the market can sustain current valuations while waiting for AI to mature, or if a correction is inevitable before genuine value emerges. Investors should heed these warnings while recognizing that bubble skeptics can be early but ultimately correct.
Why This Matters
This convergence of skepticism from both Hollywood creative talent and Wall Street investment expertise represents a significant challenge to the prevailing AI narrative that has driven trillions in market valuations. Affleck’s insider perspective on AI’s creative limitations, combined with Burry’s track record of identifying financial bubbles, lends credibility to concerns about unsustainable AI investment levels.
The criticism highlights a growing disconnect between AI hype and practical value delivery. As Big Tech companies pour billions into data centers and infrastructure, questions about return on investment become increasingly urgent. If AI models are indeed showing only incremental improvements while requiring exponentially more resources, the economic model underpinning current valuations may be fundamentally flawed.
For businesses and investors, this serves as a cautionary signal to scrutinize AI investments more carefully rather than accepting transformative promises at face value. The potential for widespread writedowns and bankruptcies could trigger broader market corrections, particularly affecting tech-heavy portfolios. This debate also raises important questions about AI’s realistic timeline for delivering transformative value versus the immediate capital demands it creates.
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Source: https://www.businessinsider.com/big-short-michael-burry-ben-affleck-rogan-ai-bubble-skeptic-2026-1