“It is time for investors and the general public to begin demanding tangible and direct numbers on the revenue and profits related to generative AI, as it is becoming increasingly obvious that the revenues are small and the profits are non-existent.”
Our reading, the sentence that was checked:
Generative AI revenues are small and profits are non-existent.
Assessment: Unresolved Evidence as of
Where and when Ed Zitron wrote it
Where's Your Ed At, Power Cut, paragraph 111.
- Said
- Source observed
- live page, full text, public
- Evidence as of
- the cutoff for this assessment
- Assessment recorded
- assessment wyea-power-cut-d70623-2-a1
We recorded 21 claims from this post. See every claim from this post.
The wording above is the version this site observed on 2026-10-28. The source may have been edited after 2025-03-03. This page does not claim the wording was captured then.
What the claim commits to
- Kind
- Observation
- Deadline, as the speaker wrote it
- None stated. This site does not add one.
- Deadline state when assessed
- No horizon
- Deadline state on 2026-10-29
- No horizon (the release’s reference date)
From the speaker
- revenue and profits related to generative AI
- revenues are small
- profits are non-existent
Our interpretation
- The assessable assertion concerns commercial generative AI providers; the demand for disclosure is not itself scored.
- The ordinary reading is that generative AI revenue remains modest relative to the investment discussed and that providers are not earning meaningful attributable profits.
- For the ongoing cross-provider financial observation, calendar 2024 is the latest completed annual period before publication. No period is named by the speaker.
- The statement does not specify a revenue threshold, provider universe, profit definition, or common accounting basis.
- Capital expenditure is not treated as an immediate operating expense, and annualized run rate is not treated as realized revenue.
Counts as supported if: Comparable 2024 disclosures establish modest generative AI revenue relative to the relevant investment and no positive attributable profits across the defined provider universe.
Counts as contradicted if: Comparable 2024 evidence establishes substantial revenue under a stated scale comparison or positive attributable profits within the claim's provider universe.
Retrospective: these criteria were written after the outcome was public.
Current assessment
Was it true for the period described?
Outcome: Unresolved
The record was checked, and the evidence available by the cutoff does not settle it.
Scored on a plain reading. The speaker named no measure for this claim, so it was judged on the reading an informed reader would take, stated below under our interpretation. Both reviews had to find that reading fair.
- Evidence as of
- Deadline state when assessed
- No horizon
- Assessment recorded
- Policy version
- 2026-10-28.7
Rationale
Available figures do not settle both assertions. OpenAI's reported loss forecast supports concern about its economics, while Microsoft's run rate and reports of Midjourney profitability caution against a blanket conclusion. These sources measure different companies, periods and financial concepts. They cannot establish either small realized revenue or nonexistent profits across the relevant industry on a common basis.
Limitations
- Small is relative and has no stated threshold.
- The financial scope and accounting basis are unspecified.
- Run rates, forecasts and earlier profitability are context rather than matching outcome evidence.
Evidence (3 items)
Context only: Microsoft,
annual revenue run rate
Why it matters here: This is a substantial disclosed run rate, but it covers Microsoft's AI business and is not realized 2024 generative AI revenue or profit. It cannot settle the specified financial observation.
- Publisher
- Microsoft
- Kind of source
- Company disclosure: the company describing itself, not an independent finding
- Measures
- Microsoft, AI business annual revenue run rate, USD billions per year, company reported, 2025-01-29 to 2025-01-29
- Describes events of
- Public from
Context only: CNBC,
$5 billion in losses
Why it matters here: The report supports concern about OpenAI's economics, but gives a forecast rather than completed-year results. It also says the loss calculation excludes equity compensation and other expenses; it cannot establish sector-wide net profitability.
- Publisher
- CNBC
- Kind of source
- News report
- Measures
- OpenAI, Forecast 2024 revenue and losses, with exclusions, USD billions, estimate, 2024-01-01 to 2024-12-31
- Describes events of
- Public from
Context only: TIME,
had become profitable
Why it matters here: Reported earlier profitability is a material counterpoint to an unrestricted industry-wide assertion. It does not establish Midjourney's 2024 profit or identify an accounting basis.
- Publisher
- TIME
- Kind of source
- News report
- Measures
- Midjourney, Reported profitability, unknown, ? to 2022
- Describes events of
- Public from
What would settle it
Define the provider universe, revenue comparison and profit basis, then obtain matching 2024 realized revenue and attributable profit figures.
Where it was said (1)
Said once in the sources this register covers.
: Where's Your Ed At, Power Cut
It is time for investors and the general public to begin demanding tangible and direct numbers on the revenue and profits related to generative AI, as it is becoming increasingly obvious that the revenues are small and the profits are non-existent.
- Where
- paragraph 111
- Published
- 2025-03-03
- Source observed
- , live page
- Access
- full text, public
History
Assessment versions
- Assessment wyea-power-cut-d70623-2-a1: Current. Outcome: Unresolved. Evidence as of 2026-10-28. Public date not recorded.
Recorded events
Assessment publishedBy this site
First assessment published after both reviews and the final-text check passed.