Economists Warn of AI Debt Risks Resembling 2008 Financial Crisis

Apollo Global Management economist Torsten Slok warned that credit default swaps on hyperscaler debt are reflecting increased risk, driven by a debt-financed AI infrastructure cycle. Analysts are drawing comparisons to the 2008 mortgage crisis due to rising leverage and uncertain returns on AI investments. Meanwhile, major AI labs, including Anthropic, are facing pressure to slow model development, which could further impact the demand for the computing power currently being financed by these cloud giants.