These firms you've never heard of are feeding fears the AI bubble could burst
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What's this about?
The amount of debt held by data centres is measured in the tens of billions of pounds.
The one-panel cartoon
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A dimly lit data center with rows of humming servers, a banker in a suit is frantically pushing papers and holding a tablet showing a stock market crash, while a tech worker in a hoodie looks at him bewildered.
Caption: When your server farm becomes a financial black hole
Read the full 3-panel strip
Based on the original story on bbc.co.uk.
Editor's note
As the AI hype reaches fever pitch, it's easy to overlook the unsung heroes—or perhaps, the unsung lenders—pouring billions into the digital backbone of this tech revolution. But with great debt comes great risk; we should all be wary of the day the AI bubble meets its digital equivalent of a brick wall.
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Read the script
Panel 1
A dimly lit, high-ceilinged server room with rows of humming servers and flashing lights. A middle-aged IT manager, JASON, is adjusting a cable while looking worriedly at a stack of financial reports.
JASON: These servers keep running on borrowed time, but they're churning out data that's fueling... what exactly?
Panel 2
A conference room with a large, cluttered table. Jason is in a meeting with several executives, all looking anxious and poring over spreadsheets. A projector screen displays a graph showing a steep increase in debt.
EXECUTIVE 1: Our debt is soaring, but the market says AI is the future! How can both be true?
EXECUTIVE 2: We're building a future on borrowed bytes and empty promises.
Panel 3
The same server room as Panel 1. Jason stands alone, staring at a blinking server with a sigh.
JASON: Maybe the AI bubble isn't just overinflated—it’s running on empty hard drives.
Highlight: Maybe the AI bubble isn't just overinflated—it’s running on empty hard drives.
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