Fed's Kashkari: AI Could Be a 'New Factor of Production'; Top Two AI Firms' Token Sales Exceed $100 Billion Annually

ME News report, August 29 (UTC+8), Beating AI Bulletin: Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh, in his Jackson Hole speech, specifically addressed artificial intelligence, stating that the current development of AI has become a “historical turning point,” with its pace of progress exceeding even the most optimistic projections from a few years ago. Warsh noted that corporate capital expenditures are currently growing at the fastest rate since 2021, with an increase of approximately 9% over the past four quarters, more than half of which is related to AI infrastructure. He emphasized that future focus will center on the “second-order effects” of AI capital spending—whether the growth rate will continue to accelerate. Warsh stated that the annualized token sales of two leading AI companies have now surpassed $100 billion, representing an increase of over 500% compared to a year ago. He indicated that the Federal Reserve now views AI as a “new variable” that could become a new factor of production, with its development likely to influence economic growth and monetary policy formulation. Warsh also raised unresolved questions: whether AI will deliver sustained productivity gains, whether token usage complements or competes with labor, and ultimately, who will capture the economic surplus generated by AI—AI labs, chip manufacturers, energy providers, or cloud service providers. (Source: BlockBeats)