On September 14, 2025, at 3:33 PM PDT, Bret Taylor, the chair of OpenAI’s board, drew a striking parallel between the current artificial intelligence (AI) landscape and the dot-com bubble of the late 1990s. During his remarks, Taylor acknowledged the similarities between the two eras, suggesting that while many companies failed when the dot-com bubble burst, the potential for transformative economic value remains significant.
Taylor emphasized that like the internet transformed every industry before it, AI is going to transform all of them. He stated, “I think it is both true that AI will transform the economy, and I think it will, like the internet, create huge amounts of economic value in the future.” This sentiment echoed that of Sam Altman, who expressed concerns about financial losses in the AI sector, stating that “someone is going to lose a phenomenal amount of money in AI.”
Though these worries over possible fiscal boondoggles hung heavily in the air, Taylor himself was buoyed by the prospective future in AI. His main point was that we shouldn’t be surprised to go through economic bubbles. He appeared blissfully unaware of the artificially inflated market he peddles on. “I think we’re in a bubble, and a lot of people will lose a lot of money,” he added. This way of looking at Taylor’s vision argues that AI’s risks and possibilities aren’t mutually exclusive.
Taylor’s reflection on the dot-com era included a somewhat reassuring observation: “all the people in 1999 were kind of right.” He thinks most of the companies that died during that time deserved to die. He recognized the intrinsic value of the underlying technology, which in the long run powered major innovation and created new economic opportunity.
The conversation around AI’s potential parallels has become more prevalent as industry titans like Bill Gates and Satya Nadella push to unveil the technology’s revolutionary power. Taylor’s comments are a healthy mix of optimism with pessimism. While he cites AI’s game-changing potential as a tool for economic development, he is quick to add the volatility that must be expected with any emerging technology.