Every generation gets its own tech mania. In the late 1990s, investors poured billions into companies with a “.com” in their name, convinced the internet would rewrite the rules of business. It did, but not in the way anyone expected. The dot-com boom created extraordinary innovation but also extraordinary destruction, wiping out fortunes when reality finally caught up to speculation.
Today, that same mix of excitement and excess has returned under a new banner: artificial intelligence. From Silicon Valley podcasts turned cultural temples to start-ups valued like sports franchises, the AI race is minting millionaires and fueling trillion-dollar market caps. But as the industry scales at breakneck speed, a familiar question lingers in the background: is this a revolution built to last, or another bubble waiting to burst?
History rarely repeats itself perfectly, but it often rhymes. The AI boom, like every transformative era before it, will produce both lasting winners and spectacular flameouts. For investors, the challenge is separating genuine progress from speculative noise. True innovation tends to endure even after the hype fades, but valuations built on excitement alone rarely do. At Barry Investment Advisors, we believe perspective is the most valuable tool in times like these. It serves as a reminder that disciplined strategy, thoughtful diversification, and patience will likely outlast any bubble, no matter how big it seems.