Remember Tulip Fever ? When Tulip Bulbs became a form of currency. And a representation of Value .. Where a single rare Tulip bulb could buy you a grand house on Amsterdam’s Grand Canal .. considered at that time one of the most expensive Real Estate in Europe ..

Till the crash happened, and fortunes were lost ..

That was in 1637, and was the first valuation bubble to burst in recorded history ..

We are surrounded by conversations today of the impending great AI valuation bubble. Where ‘valuations’ are now measured in trillions of dollars.

Hang on .. AI is the most democratic technology to hit us. It will multiply human potential at a pace never imagined .. And I have argued that the real rise of AI will come from where it is most needed .. from the bottom of the socio economic pyramid ..

But valuations are another story. For that’s what valuations are .. a story .. a myth that is perpetuated by those who stand to benefit from it .. by those that benefited once in 1637 from the value of Tulips.

And if indeed we must believe in the ‘valuation’ of trillions of dollars .. then we have to accept that ‘money’ as a commodity is losing value .. and perhaps is no longer a valid measure of real ‘value’ ..