AI bubble burst may trigger 2008-like banking crisis, says Gary Marcus
ET BureauMarcus, who was in India this week, has emerged as one of the world's most widely recognised and independent critics of the current generative-AI hype.
He called Anthropic "egregious" for calling out risks and asking for slowing down of AI while pressing ahead with its $2 trillion IPO. He sought a "recall" of autonomous AI agents, arguing that they are dangerous and unsafe and that the launch of personal agents will further aggravate the situation.
"People talk about P(doom), the probability that AI will cause human extinction. But I think the probability of that is very low. The probability of catastrophe is higher, and the probability of dystopia is very high. We are already heading that way," he said.
A professor emeritus of psychology and neural science at New York University, he founded machine-learning startup Geometric Intelligence, which was acquired by Uber in 2016, and later co-founded robotics company Robust.AI.
He famously testified alongside OpenAI CEO Sam Altman before the US Senate in 2023 on AI regulation and in December 2025, published a set of provocative predictions for 2026, which included warnings of a generative AI investment bubble peaking in 2025, AGI being a long time away and backlash over AI becoming a political issue during the mid-term elections in the US.
Marcus said OpenAI could possibly struggle to justify its spending and eventually fail to secure the public listing it hopes for.
"Microsoft could acquire OpenAI for $200 billion rather than the $1 trillion valuation the company might seek in an IPO," he said.
WeWork, once valued at $47 billion, saw its planned 2019 IPO collapse amid concerns over losses and governance before filing for bankruptcy in 2023, while OpenAI has reportedly delayed its planned IPO, targeting a valuation of $1 trillion, to next year.
Ujjivan SFB to Raise 409 crore From IFC, 3 Life Insurers
Kolkata: Ujjivan Small Finance Bank is looking to raise ₹409 crore in a preferential equity allotment to International Finance Corporation and three local life insurance companies.IFC is likely to invest ₹249 crore while the balance will be put in by Bajaj Life Insurance Co, Aditya Birla Sun Life Insurance Co and HDFC Life Insurance Co, Ujjivan said in a stock exchange filing. The bank will privately place up to 6.32 crore equity shares at ₹64.73, including a premium of ₹54.73 each over face value of ₹10, it said. The board approved the execution of the subscription agreement with IFC.
Meanwhile, Ujjivan reported a 200% surge in second quarter net profit at ₹365 crore, riding on a 35% rise in net interest income at ₹1,244 crore.
Its net interest margin was at 8.4%, up 55 basis points year-on-year.