AI Gains Confined to Tech Sector, Apollo Finds
Original: No signs of AI payoff outside the tech sector
Why This Matters
Raises hard questions about ROI as non-tech AI spending scales up rapidly.
Apollo Global Management's chief economist Torsten Slok finds no measurable AI productivity payoff outside the tech sector, raising questions about the broader economic returns on massive AI investment.
Apollo Global Management's chief economist Torsten Slok has published analysis concluding that, so far, AI's financial and productivity benefits remain confined to the technology sector, with no visible payoff elsewhere in the economy. The piece, part of Apollo's 'Daily Spark' series, adds institutional weight to a growing skepticism about whether the billions poured into AI infrastructure are translating into economy-wide gains. Slok has previously outlined macro dynamics including the AI boom as a key theme in his mid-year outlook, but this note draws a sharper line: the rest of the economy isn't seeing it yet. The finding matters in the context of surging AI capital expenditure by major tech firms—spending that has driven data center buildouts and chip demand while non-tech sectors report little measurable lift in output or efficiency. The article does not speculate on when or whether that payoff will arrive; it simply states the current data shows no evidence of it spreading beyond tech.