[hyperpape]

Maybe there's an argument that a lack of rising profit margins in non-tech companies is a bad sign for AI, but this article doesn't make it. Why can't we have a red-queen's race where non-tech companies are implementing AI, but it's not increasing the total profits of those sectors, just meeting rising customer demands/fighting over the share of existing profits? (Never mind that if you look at that chart, profit margins aren't static to begin with, so you can't isolate AI impact from normal fluctuation).

Now, on the first order point, I agree that non-tech companies seem to be taking longer to see results from AI, even if the argument was bad.

I work on SaaS for the logistics space, and I feel like prior to the end of 2025, almost all the discussion about AI for logistics was vaporware, starting this year, companies are actually trying to deploy agents, and we'll start finding out what the ROI is later this year or next.

[mikgp]

> Why can't we have a red-queen's race where non-tech companies are implementing AI, but it's not increasing the total profits of those sectors, just meeting rising customer demands/fighting over the share of existing profits?

But then if this happens - all of the stock market has risen in the promise of AI. If AI eats profits instead of grows them, then the economy shrinks right? So maybe that’s worse? That there is no productivity increase?

[eru]

> If AI eats profits instead of grows them, then the economy shrinks right?

No, why? The economy is bigger than company profits. Eg there's workers' wages and customer surplus and investments etc.

[rurufjcir]

Because companies need earnings growth and they’ll fire workers to meet those targets

[eru]

Firings workers doesn't make earnings grow in general.

And company don't _need_ earnings growth. That's why many companies buy back shares or pay dividends instead of always investing retained earnings.

[vb-8448]

> I agree that non-tech companies seem to be taking longer to see results from AI

Rewriting your app in rust won't increase your revenue, it will cost you more in terms of tokens and risk increasing.