Should the AI Bubble Deflate?

Before this year, I had never been even the slightest bit interested in the economy. Then, I started participating in Public Forum, a style of debate. And since then, I’ve heard numerous contentions regarding AI and the economy, which has led me to consider myself somewhat of an expert on the impact of AI on the economy.

Recently, I participated in a debate tournament. We were discussing whether the United States Federal Government should have access to encrypted data. Our opponents happened to be the affirming side of the topic, and one of their arguments was that AI can create diseases that have no known cure. (We lost the round, in case you were wondering.)

Unfortunately, this seems to be the actual case. According to the Global Biodefense site, “malicious actors may exploit generative AI to design, synthesize, and deploy bioweapons.” [https://globalbiodefense.com/2025/07/02/ai-bioterrorism-threat-biosecurity/]

That made me think. AI was created in 1956, and only about three years ago was AI made accessible to the general public. In 2022, AI was barely able to generate a picture of a dog without making the image look like something you may see inside a kaleidoscope, and now, it’s generating diseases?

And AI’s ability to improve this rapidly made me think even further. How long is it going to be before AI advances to the level that will truly allow it to replace all jobs, even the ones that require human interaction? AI has already put thousands of people out of jobs. Am I even going to have a job when I grow up?

And it’s not like AI is perfect, either. If you use Google as your search engine, I’m sure you noticed that Google now automatically uses AI to search. Sure, it’s efficient and saves time, but AI data centers need gallons and gallons of water and significant energy that takes away from communities that actually need it. Therefore, with all the rapid investments and job replacements, I have concluded that slowing AI down can benefit the economy.