Amodei AI slowdown call sinks chips; Arya sees $3tn+ capex

The selloff began in the US and reached Asia, with South Korea's SK Hynix sliding roughly 7.6% in sympathy with its US peers, tied to the same AI infrastructure buildout. Amodei's essay argued the most advanced AI systems risk slipping beyond human control without deliberate restraint, and the call drew endorsements from OpenAI's Sam Altman and xAI's Elon Musk. Together, the essay and the market reaction revived debate over whether AI-linked valuations face a sharper correction.

The bull case rests on earnings and spending math. Bank of America analyst Vivek Arya called the reaction background noise, noting the chip index still trades near 19 times forward earnings, roughly matching the S&P 500, even though earnings growth is running about seven times faster than the broader market. The index has still gained 67% so far in 2026. On the other side, BeInCrypto has previously flagged circular financing concerns around Nvidia's expanding role as both chip supplier and financier to its own AI customers, a structure some compare to the vendor financing that preceded the dot-com bust.

The outcome appears to hinge on whether AI monetization keeps pace with the spending it has already justified. Strong earnings from Nvidia and its customers could make this pullback temporary, while a slower order book, or a verified case of models acting beyond expected limits, would test that thesis quickly. For investors holding chip and AI-infrastructure positions, the near-term test is likely to arrive through those earnings and order signals rather than through the safety debate itself.