Big Tech is all in on AI. Now all they need is customers.

By

Updated on: June 25, 2026 / 11:14 AM EDT

/ CBS News

Add CBS News on Google

This week's selloff in technology stocks underscores a gnawing anxiety among investors: What happens if you throw a big party and few people show up?The Nasdaq Composite Index has slipped nearly 3% this week as Wall Street frets over whether the trillions of dollars going into artificial intelligence will deliver the revenue and profit growth needed to justify that exorbitant cost.Goldman Sachs estimates tech companies will spend $7.6 trillion through 2031 to build thousands of new data centers to power the rise of AI. But fresh data is raising questions about whether enough consumers and businesses are willing to pay up for these services, even as the tech giants leading the AI charge borrow heavily to build the required infrastructure."There's concern around how much hyperscalers are turning to debt markets in order to finance the infrastructure buildout," Kate Brennan, associate director of independent research institute AI Now, told CBS News, referring to the tech companies driving the torrent in AI capital spending — Alphabet, Amazon, Meta, Microsoft and Oracle. She added, "The returns are not coming in, and the claims that are being made, in terms of efficiency or productivity numbers, are not netting out."Brennan also pointed to rising skepticism among some consumers and workers about the utility of AI. To be sure, Americans are increasingly using AI, but for now few appear willing to pay for it. That reluctance is coupled with what polls show are major public concerns with AI: 40% of adults think the technology will be a negative societal force over the next two decades, versus 16% who believe it will be positive, according to Pew Research.Meanwhile, more companies are laying off workers and investing in AI instead, heightening concerns about the technology's impact on jobs. For employers, the payoff is uncertain. A May study from tech research firm Gartner found that businesses that replace workers with AI agents often fail to generate a return on investment.