Anthropic Advisor: AI Productivity Exaggerated, Valuations 'Crazy'

An advisor to Anthropic, Eric Ries, is sharply criticizing the current AI investment boom. He believes many claims about AI productivity gains are unproven, and that private AI company valuations are "crazy." Ries, who has advised Anthropic since 2021, states that many AI-attributed layoffs are simply "repackaged cost-cutting." He suggests companies are using AI as a label to make routine workforce reductions seem like efficiency gains. He points out that Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei's sister recently noted that AI-driven job losses have not yet materialized. Ries is skeptical that either the productivity increases or job displacement are clearly visible in the data right now. Regarding productivity, Ries says it's "very, very, very early" to see AI's impact. He notes that many companies adopting AI haven't seen significant productivity improvements. His most striking point concerns valuations. Ries recounted how investors were "begging" to get into Anthropic at valuations of $500 billion, $800 billion, or even $1 trillion, after he initially struggled to get investment at $5 billion. He finds this "pay any price" behavior to be a signal of excessive speculation. This skepticism from an insider raises important questions about the actual returns and sustainability of current AI investments.