The clock is ticking on AI to deliver on its promises of transformed workplace and economic productivity, and if lags in returns on investment continue, the markets are in for a rude awakening, according to one top economist.

Torsten Slok, the influential chief economist for Apollo Global Management, argued in a recent blog post that there’s a growing gap around AI-enhanced productivity. Basically, you can only see it at tech companies, not most of the Fortune 500.   
  
While some sectors like software and tech can easily integrate AI into their operations, Slok argued that deploying this technology is slow-going for the vast majority of the economy. It takes time and effort due to regulatory hurdles, data protection, and workflow integration, meaning structural productivity gains are slow, and returns of investment have yet to be seen. Slok said he thinks it may happen—eventually. And by that point, the stock bubble may have burst, because the market has priced in returns sooner rather than later. 

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[https://fortune.com/2026/07/06/ai-productivity-gains-bubble-painful-repricing-markets-torsten-slok/?utm\_source=reddit/](https://fortune.com/2026/07/06/ai-productivity-gains-bubble-painful-repricing-markets-torsten-slok/?utm_source=reddit/)

Top economist says AI just hasn’t delivered on the productivity hype—and it means a 'painful repricing' of markets is very possible