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Bond yields may be finally baking in an AI world

Investment firms are reassessing the long-term macroeconomic impact of artificial intelligence

    • Humanoid robotics may lift economy-wide productivity more than other AI forecasts suggest – but it will also affect more jobs.
    • Humanoid robotics may lift economy-wide productivity more than other AI forecasts suggest – but it will also affect more jobs. PHOTO: REUTERS
    Published Thu, May 21, 2026 · 06:30 AM

    ALTHOUGH some are puzzled by the coincidence of an artificial intelligence boom and rising borrowing costs, they are closely linked.

    Beyond the immediate heat of the AI investment frenzy, a long-term productivity surge is lifting estimates of neutral interest rates even as workers’ share of the gross domestic product pie declines.

    The Iran-related oil shock and its immediate inflation fallout explain some of this month’s bond market jitters. Record-high stock markets have been harder to explain during an energy crunch.