AWS CFO joked about the financial toll of AI. An internal recording reveals why

> At an internal staff meeting in September, AWS CFO John Felton had a joke for Prasad Kalyanaraman, the executive overseeing much of Amazon's AI infrastructure expansion.

> "You've taken us free cash flow negative as a company, so congratulations," Felton said, according to a recording of the meeting obtained by Business Insider.

> The remark was lighthearted. But it captured a stunning reversal.

> Just two years ago, Wall Street was debating what Amazon would do with its growing cash hoard. Now, free cash flow has evaporated as Amazon embarks on its biggest bet ever, spending $220 billion this year alone to build the physical backbone for AI.

Huge $220 billion this year to build data centers. One good thing about them for AWS would be that a push to self host / manage your own AI infrastructure could likely still be a boon for AWS.

Everyone has a clear path to profitability --- until you step back and expand your perspective.

The only way for AI to pay for itself is to eliminate workers and lots of them. And not just low paid workers but mostly higher paid knowledge workers.

In other words; success of AI means a shrinking economy --- fewer people with the disposable income to buy all the nonessential products built with the help of AI.

So AI is ultimately a self defeating economic loop. And this is not just my opinion --- many AI "leaders" acknowledge this and are starting to discuss things like subsistence level "universal basic income". Aka, wellfare for everyone --- until they realize that this means higher taxes on themselves.

https://www.businessinsider.com/universal-basic-income-ai?op...