A transformation waiting for leadership

I'm frequently asked whether the AI boom will end. Uncertainty gives rise to the query. They observe changes in the headlines. They observe fluctuations in valuation. They hear pundits discussing bubbles.

Every time I hear the worry, I remember the earlier cycles that did much more to change the world than to disturb it.

Even last night, after I landed from a flight and was waiting in arrivals, people were checking transport boards, how they could access information, which required them to scan QR codes or download apps, which made them talk about AI, ending with saying that as long as it didn't take their jobs, they were ok with it.

Conversations about AI, technology, and innovation follow me wherever I go.

The Fear of the Boom and the Lessons of History

I have lived through several waves of innovation. I remember the dot-com era as a child, the rise of social networks, and the moment cell phones moved from novelty to necessity.

Every wave felt fast and also felt risky. Every wave created anxiety and opportunity at the same time.

AI is triggering the same emotional response, but the context is very different.

When people tell me their fear is based on investment volatility, I point to the actions of leaders known for long-term thinking. Warren Buffett’s recent multibillion-dollar investment in AI is an example.

This individual is brilliant and avoids noise. He studies fundamentals; he moves when long-term value outweighs short-term risk. His recent investments are a testament to his confidence in the trajectory.

We are witnessing a constant, evolving change that links industries, governments, education systems, and individuals

To me, it tells me we are not dealing with a fragile trend. If you think that, ask Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway team why they invested US$4.3 billion into Alphabet.

Every major boom in history followed a pattern. Curiosity. Acceleration. Fear. Stabilisation. Normalisation. The world did this with cell phones, household electronics, air travel, and cryptocurrencies. Once the newness fades, the technology becomes part of everyday life. We can all agree on that.

AI will follow that same trajectory. Not because it is immune to slowdowns, but because it solves problems that do not disappear.

People fear this boom because it feels big. It changes how we work. It changes how we learn. It changes how we create.

Clearly, the speed challenges our comfort, and the fear is natural. Yet every indicator I see points towards a long cycle of growth before stabilisation arrives.

We are witnessing a constant, evolving change that links industries, governments, education systems, and individuals. That scale alone sets this moment apart.

What Makes This AI Boom Different?

History is full of booms that created bursts of excitement before fading. This wave stands apart in ways worth acknowledging if we want a grounded view of the future.

The first difference is the extent to which AI integrates across sectors. It supports medicine, logistics, education, manufacturing, marketing, cybersecurity, entertainment, and government. It advances scientific research.

It enables more accessibility. It strengthens small businesses. When a technology reaches this level of adoption before maturity, resilience builds from the ground up.

The second difference is the infrastructure behind the boom. Companies are not pitching ideas with no foundation. They are building systems that require long-term planning.

Think training clusters, cloud platforms, data centres, energy capacity, and new chip architectures. These projects involve high costs and a heavy commitment.

The partnerships between AWS and OpenAI and between NVIDIA and OpenAI are examples of structural investment, not speculative activity. Meta’s six-hundred-billion-dollar infrastructure plan adds to that picture.

These decisions are designed to support decades of use. You can catch up on my previous articles talking about these topics.

When change comes from all sides, momentum becomes structural

The third difference is the workforce. AI is not driven only by institutions. People drive it. Professionals across every industry are upskilling. Students are entering the field earlier.

Women in tech are stepping into leadership roles that influence strategy, ethics, and policy. Education programmes are expanding faster than they ever expanded during previous cycles. This transformation indicates that technology is becoming part of human behaviour, not a temporary trend.

Still, as always, challenges exist, and we need to address them. Compute costs remain high, which fuels concerns about accessibility and dependence on a few suppliers. Regulation moves more slowly than development, which creates friction between innovation and governance.

And one of the most important for me is the confusion about the role AI will play in future jobs. Some people fear loss of control. Others fear unfair systems. These concerns are valid, should not be ignored, and deserve thoughtful solutions.

Just like the people having the conversation at the airport last night, people are worrying about it and talking about it.

Despite these obstacles, the overall direction is steady. Governments are announcing AI strategies, industries are reorganising around AI capability, startups continue to launch, enterprises continue to scale, and everyday users continue to adopt. When change comes from all sides, momentum becomes structural.

This boom is powered by technology that improves at a pace we have never seen. It is guided by collective curiosity and global investment. The world is still building, not retreating.

What We Can Be Relieved About and What Comes Next

There are many reasons for confidence as we navigate this moment. To list a few, AI delivers real value that leaders can measure, reduces repetitive workloads, increases research precision, improves customer support, accelerates product development, and expands creative possibilities.

Technologies that deliver measurable improvement do not disappear. They evolve. They settle into the background of daily life.

We can also take comfort in the fact that investment is not concentrated in one region. The United States, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East are all building their own AI ecosystems. Saudi Arabia is a clear example with HUMAIN.

The country continues to develop infrastructure, data capacity, and talent pipelines with a long-term vision. Distributed investment reduces the chance of a single point of failure. It creates stability across markets.

The most important factor is cultural integration. People already use AI in small ways throughout their day. They use it to learn, communicate, plan, and build. Once technology becomes part of behaviour, its future becomes more predictable. It becomes something we rely on rather than something we fear.

When people ask me if the AI boom will burst, my answer is consistent. The hype will, of course, slow down in the future, but the innovation will stay. The technology will mature, and the cycle will shift from excitement to stability. The focus will move from novelty to reliability.

This moment we are living through each day is not a bubble waiting to burst. It is a transformation waiting for leadership. That is my opinion, and I stand behind it.

I believe we are still early in this journey. Right now, the world needs people who can guide AI towards human benefit. As the boom settles into daily life, what will that future look like?

I look forward to seeing how we collaborate to build our new world, because as I always say, together we are stronger.