Shadowing Practice: Is the AI Boom Just Another Bubble? - Learn English Speaking with Video
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Hey there! I believe most of you here have heard of AI or even used it, like ChatGPT, Gemini, and others. Maybe you use it to help with your tasks, ask questions, make pictures, create videos, and some people are even getting married to it. Everything feels AI-hyped right now. Many companies are starting to build their own AI too. Google, Microsoft, Elon, and many others are making it, using it, and pouring billions of dollars into it. You might also see AI-related stocks like Nvidia going crazy over the past few years. Investors are happy, so they pour in even more money. And then, suddenly, you stop and think… wait, hold on. Isn’t this starting to feel like a bubble? Everyone seems way too excited and is throwing billions into AI almost blindly. People have been saying this for a long time, and now you’re probably wondering, is it really a bubble? Well, in this video, we’re going to talk about how bubbles really happen, why so many people say AI is a bubble, the infinite circular money glitch, whether this is the dot-com bubble 2.0, and finally, whether AI will really burst and crash. Alright, let’s get started.
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Section 1. How bubbles really happen. So, when everyone says AI is in a bubble, some of you might ask, what is a bubble? A bubble is like this. Everyone starts buying the same thing because they think it will be super valuable later. At first, only a few people buy it. Then more people copy. Soon, everyone is buying it just because everyone else is buying it. Nobody really stops to ask if it’s actually worth that much right now. So, the price goes higher and higher, even though the real value hasn’t changed much yet. And when people finally realize it’s not as amazing as they imagined, they stop buying. That’s when the bubble pops.
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And bubbles have happened many times before. In fact, many major economic crises were also linked to bubbles. For example, the 2008 housing bubble, when everyone rushed to buy houses and it eventually popped, played a major role in causing a global crisis. There was also Japan’s economic bubble, which is one reason its economy stayed weak for decades. And of course, the dot-com bubble in the early 2000s, which was driven by internet hype. So, bubbles have happened many times, in many countries, and with many different technologies.
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Section 2. Why so many people say AI is a bubble? Mostly because it feels very familiar. People remember what happened during the dot-com era, when the internet was new and exciting. Back then, prices went up fast, excitement went crazy, and everyone believed the future had already arrived. That memory never really disappeared. And because both are transformative technologies with similar hype stories, people connect AI to the dot-com bubble. For example, ChatGPT needed only 2 months to reach 100 million users, much faster than platforms like TikTok, which needed about 9 months, or Instagram, which needed 2.5 years, or Facebook, which needed more than 4 years. AI tools are being used by professionals and regular people across many industries. So, you might think, if platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Google made tons of money, then AI tools like ChatGPT should make even more money, right?
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Well, that’s the problem. Many AI companies are still not clearly profitable, especially OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT. AI is extremely expensive to run. Training models, buying chips, running servers, paying engineers, and doing constant research all cost huge amounts of money. AI needs GPUs, which are special machines that handle the heavy calculations, and that is super expensive. Some estimates suggest training GPT-4 may have cost tens of millions of dollars, and possibly over $100 million. And that’s not even the end of the cost. Every time you use ChatGPT online, all the calculations happen on OpenAI’s servers.
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That means electricity, cooling systems (often water-based), and maintenance all add to costs.
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At the same time, users expect AI to be cheap or even free. For example. When many people saying something simple in ChatGPT like “thank you” actually cost millions for OpenAI. Of course, one “thank you” costs almost nothing, but billions of them add up to millions of dollars. Some reports and estimates suggest OpenAI may have lost around $11.5 billion in a single quarter in 2025! With this situation, it starts to make sense why so many people call this an AI bubble.
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Section 3. The infinite circular money glitch. One of the biggest reasons people worry about an AI bubble is something called circular investment. The idea is simple. Big AI companies invest in each other, then buy from each other, which makes growth look much bigger than it really is.
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Here’s an over-simplified example with numbers so it’s easy to see. Remember, this is an over-simplified version. So, a chip company like Nvidia designs the most important chips for AI. An AI company like OpenAI needs those chips to run ChatGPT and train new models.
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So, let’s say Nvidia invests $10 billion into OpenAI, either directly or through long-term deals and partnerships. OpenAI now has more money and more computing power, so it spends a large part of it on cloud computing for more powerful AI.
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Now look at where that money goes. OpenAI spends $8 billion on cloud services from companies like Oracle or other AI cloud providers. Those cloud companies use that $8 billion to buy GPUs and hardware, mostly from Nvidia. So, a big part of the original $10 billion flows back to Nvidia as chip sales. So, Nvidia sees higher revenue. OpenAI shows growth. Cloud companies see higher sales. On paper, everyone looks like they’re winning.
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And again, this is an over-simplified version, because the real scenario looks like this. Yeah, quite different and more complicated but the idea is same.
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From the outside, valuations go up and revenues look strong. But the uncomfortable question is this: how much of this money comes from real users and businesses paying from outside the system, and how much is just the same tens of billions of dollars moving in a circle? If one part of that loop slows down or stops, the pressure spreads quickly to everyone else. Even though big companies like Nvidia, Oracle, and Microsoft are quite diversified beyond AI, the idea of money just moving around still makes people worry. Section 4. Is this dot-com bubble 2.0? So, as I mentioned before, in the early 2000s there was a bubble called the dot-com bubble. The internet was the new hype, and investors threw money at almost any company with “.com” in its name, even if it had no profits and no real business model. At its peak, over 400 internet companies went public, and the Nasdaq, which is heavily focused on technology stocks, jumped by over 600% in total.
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So, is this just the same scenario, with a different mask? The short answer is, there are indeed similarities. Because of that history, people today look at AI and feel uneasy.
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Like the internet in the past, AI is also a new technology. AI-related stocks have pushed tech markets sharply higher again in recent years. Excitement is high, investment is massive, and expectations are huge. While many AI-leading companies like Nvidia, Microsoft, and Google are making huge profits and are strong, cash-rich businesses, very different from dot-com companies, where many didn’t even make a single penny, but other companies like OpenAI are still burning tons of money with unclear profit potential. This makes people wonder: how long will this trend survive?
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Section 5. Will the AI bubble burst, and what happens next? So, the big question is, will the AI bubble actually burst? The honest answer is, it might. There’s a real possibility it will happen.
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But that doesn’t mean AI will suddenly disappear. When bubbles burst, what usually breaks first is not the technology itself, but the hype around it. If AI does burst, the first thing that happens is that money slows down. Investors become more careful. Companies stop throwing money at every AI project just because it sounds cool. AI companies that don’t make real profit will struggle, while the ones that survive will rise again. But here’s the important part. AI itself doesn’t go away. Just like after the dot-com bubble, the internet didn’t disappear. I mean, you’re literally watching this video on the internet right now. What disappeared were unrealistic business models, like Pets.com, a company selling pet products that earned hundreds of thousands but spent millions. That didn’t last. But companies that proved their businesses could survive didn’t die. Many people forgot that Amazon, eBay, and Cisco are all dot-com bubble survivors.
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Are they dead today? No. They’re giants. And if you’re investing in tech stocks, this is why it’s important to understand what you’re actually investing in. Always do your own research. If you want to learn more about market crashes, you can check out my other video on what happens when the stock market crashes. The link is in the description.
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So, in conclusion. AI is a real and revolutionary technology that’s already changing how we work and live. But when a powerful new technology shows up, money often moves faster than reality.
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Some AI companies may fail and some hype may disappear, but AI itself won’t vanish. Just like after the dot-com bubble, the companies that actually make sense are the ones that survive. So, don’t panic, and don’t blindly hype it either. If you want to invest in tech, always do your own research and don’t just follow the crowd or FOMO. Help us keep making videos like this by becoming a member and unlock some exclusive perks too. If you want me to make other videos explaining these topics, please like and subscribe. Thanks for watching.
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Is the AI Boom a Bubble? Let's Explore the Conversation
Imagine chatting with a friend about the biggest tech trend of the decade: AI. They mention ChatGPT, Nvidia stocks, and whether all this hype is just a bubble waiting to burst. This is the scenario in the video, where complex ideas like "circular investment" and "dot-com bubble 2.0" are broken down into relatable talk. It’s the perfect setup for english speaking practice—you’ll hear natural phrasing, questions, and explanations that mirror real-life conversations.
Useful Chunks & Collocations to Master
- "pouring billions into" – Used when talking about heavy investment (e.g., "Companies are pouring billions into AI research").
- "the bubble pops" – Describes a market crash (e.g., "If investors lose faith, the bubble could pop").
- "burning money" – Means spending more than earning (e.g., "Some AI startups are still burning money").
- "follow the crowd" – Warns against copying others blindly (e.g., "Don’t follow the crowd when investing").
- "transformative technology" – A tech that changes how we live (e.g., "AI is a transformative technology, like the internet").
Your Shadowing Challenge: Speak Like the Video Host
Ready to try shadow speech? Pick a 1-minute section of the video (try the part where the host explains "how bubbles really happen"). Play a short clip, pause, and repeat it out loud—mimic the tone, speed, and pauses. Focus on phrases like "Everyone starts buying the same thing because they think it will be super valuable later." Do this 5 times, then record yourself. Compare it to the original—did you catch the natural flow? For extra practice, use a shadowing app to track your progress. This exercise isn’t just for IELTS speaking practice—it builds confidence in explaining complex ideas, a key skill for real-world English.
Learning English with YouTube videos like this one makes practice fun and relevant. You’re not just memorizing words—you’re mastering how to talk about topics that matter. So, hit play, start shadowing, and let the conversation guide your growth!
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | have heard · hasn't changed · have happened |
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | bubble, which is · GPUs, which are · other, which makes |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | were also linked · are indeed |
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.