[lioeters]

Knowing nothing about the AI field, I think your point applies in general, that in an economic downturn, companies which are providing practical value to meet an existing demand are likely to fare better than speculative ventures (R&D, startups).

On the other hand, VC money seems to operate on a different sphere and logic, that it will probably continue to be hungry for risk, in search of the big payoff.

The article makes a good point about considering our economic dependency chain. If there's a recession (with the pandemic as a possible contributing factor), surely those chains will be shaken to shed some "weight" - those areas which are not clearly providing tangible, immediate business value.