Two years ago today (November 30), OpenAI introduced a product called ChatGPT to the world, describing it as "a model that interacts through conversation." According to AIbase, this launch dramatically changed the landscape of business and technology, becoming a phenomenon that still tops Apple's free app chart and sparked a global wave of generative AI.

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Reconfiguring Power Structures: OpenAI's "Nation-State" Influence

The immense influence of ChatGPT has gone far beyond the technical realm. As Karen Hao, author of "The AI Empire," pointed out in a TechCrunch interview, OpenAI "has become more powerful than almost any nation-state in the world," and is "redefining our geopolitics and reshaping all of our lives."

Charlie Warzel of The Atlantic describes our current era as a "world built by ChatGPT," one characterized by "a special kind of instability" and "perpetual crisis." This uncertainty strongly affects young people entering the workforce, who are told their career paths may no longer be clear; it also challenges the older generation, putting their hard-earned skills at risk of becoming obsolete.

Stock Market Surge: The "Big Seven" Effect Led by NVIDIA

The economic impact of ChatGPT is most evident in the stock market. Bloomberg analysis shows that since the release of this chatbot, chip giant NVIDIA has seen its stock price soar by 979%, making it the most obvious winner so far.

Additionally, this AI boom has boosted the entire large tech sector. Currently, the seven companies with the highest market capitalization in the S&P 500 Index—NVIDIA, Microsoft, Apple, Alphabet, Amazon, Meta, and Broadcom—are all technology-related. Their collective growth has accounted for nearly half of the index's total increase of 64% since ChatGPT was released.

This has led to an increasing concentration of market weight. These seven companies now account for 35% of the S&P 500 Index, compared to about 20% three years ago.

Enthusiasm and Warnings: Acknowledging Being in a "Bubble"

Although supporters and investors of AI remain optimistic and have profited greatly, industry executives generally take a cautious stance on whether this growth will continue.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said in August: "Some people will lose a lot of money in the AI field." Brett Taylor, CEO of Sierra and chair of OpenAI's board, also agreed that we are in a "bubble" and compared it to the dot-com bubble of the late 1990s.

Taylor predicts that although some companies may fail, "AI will change the economy, and I believe it will create significant economic value in the future, just like the internet did."

In Warzel's view, this cautious attitude reflects a core characteristic of generative AI: it will never reach a final form. Within the next three years or even less, it may become clear whether the current optimistic predictions are reasonable.