- stop using claude
- stop using open AI
- guess what happens?
- user base drops to 0
- demand drops to 0
- both companies go bankrupt
- no need for data centers anymore? see its that simple
- in the first step, convince all the HN guys to cancel their subscriptions
User base and demand are irrelevant when it comes to a bubble. People invest because Line Goes Up, which in turn makes Line Goes Up, convincing people to invest. As the saying goes: markets can remain irrational a lot longer than you and I can remain solvent.
If, say, Google publishes a claim that "95% of Google Search users have adopted AI", that does not mean that 95% of Google Search users think AI is a core feature of Search they would potentially pay extra for - which is what the massive valuations are based on. The AI Mode is auto-enabled, so the only thing it tells you is that 5% of users are annoyed enough by it that they take the time to disable it.
Some people of course genuinely like it and would indeed pay extra for AI-enhanced search, but a huge chunk of users simply does not care either way. They wouldn't pay a dime for AI, just like they wouldn't pay a dime for the ability to re-arrange the letters in the Google logo into "Oggoel". If AI were default-off, they would not bother enabling it. That is fake demand.