Over the years, I’ve shared many charts that illustrate how AI and the industry are evolving. But I’ve never put them together. This is the bigger picture that standalone news articles miss. When you see them at once, things start to make sense.

I’ve compiled 11 charts that I consider extremely important: the ones that reveal the ugly side of the story. A chart tells you what the industry wants you to see. Enough charts, and you start to see through the industry.

The format is: title, chart, one-liner explanation with source. In 5 minutes of reading time, you will understand more about where the AI industry is heading than from hundreds of pages of corporate reports.

Here’s the outline:

1. TEN COMPANIES ARE CARRYING THE ENTIRE ECONOMY

2. THE CAPABILITIES OF AI HAVE BEEN EXAGGERATED

3. MOST TOKENS GENERATED BY AI ARE WASTED

4. AI RELIABILITY IS BARELY IMPROVING

5. THE AI INDUSTRY RUNS ON CIRCULAR DEALS

6. PEOPLE ARE NOT USING AI TO ITS FULL POTENTIAL

7. AMERICANS DON’T WANT DATACENTERS NEARBY

8. AI USERS BELIEVE AI EVEN WHEN IT’S WRONG

9. WORKERS DON’T THINK AI IS SAVING THEM TIME

10. AI IS KILLING THE JOBS OF JUNIOR DEVELOPERS

11. THE IMPOSSIBLE MATH OF THE AI BOOM