Apollo Global Management chief economist Torsten Slok argues AI has delivered zero financial payoff to corporate America outside big tech, in a note summarized by TechCrunch.
Slok analyzes the “S&P 493” (S&P 500 minus Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta, Microsoft, Nvidia, Tesla). Profit margins and revenue per worker appear flat with no sign AI is lifting productivity.
Quote: “Despite massive investments and widespread hype around artificial intelligence, the technology has delivered zero financial payoff to corporate America outside of tech.”
He doubts non-tech firms can easily convert “increasingly cheap intelligence” into revenue growth and margins: “AI may be a great calculator, but in business, intelligence is mostly judgment,” citing accountability, trust, culture, ethics, and reputational risk.
TechCrunch notes other studies also show limited productivity gains so far.