Singularly Scary
...is the future really better than Peter thinks?
Long time readers know that I’m a big fan of Peter Diamandis[1] of Singularity University[2] fame. One of my most encouraging reads was his 2005 book, The Singularity is Near[3]. Here is the Amazon blurb describing it:
At the onset of the twenty-first century, humanity stands on the verge of the most transforming and thrilling period in its history. It will be an era in which the very nature of what it means to be human will be both enriched and challenged as our species breaks the shackles of its genetic legacy and achieves inconceivable heights of intelligence, material progress, and longevity.
While the social and philosophical ramifications of these changes will be profound, and the threats they pose considerable, The Singularity Is Near presents a radical and optimistic view of the coming age that is both a dramatic culmination of centuries of technological ingenuity and a genuinely inspiring vision of our ultimate destiny.
I don’t want to say he nailed it nearly 25 years ago, but he didn’t miss much. According to Grok, in a blurb attributed to Diamandis,
Kurzweil’s foresight batting average: roughly .650 to .750 (65-75%) on direction and major trends, with lower precision on exact timelines and specifics—outstanding for long-term futurism.
So, it was with great interest that I read Peter’s March 16, 2026 Substack post, Supersonic Tsunami: The Next 6 Months. Here is ChatGPT’s ultra-short summary of the post:
AI has hit an inflection point where advances in compute, capability, and infrastructure are compounding, shifting it from a software tool into a substitute for human labor. That’s driving explosive growth and a trillion-dollar buildout in chips, data centers, and energy—even as bottlenecks like power are rapidly being addressed.
The bottom line: this isn’t a typical tech cycle—it’s a foundational shift toward an abundance economy, with the biggest opportunities in the infrastructure enabling it.
Substitute for human labor. Let that sink in.
I’m seeing evidence of this in the financial advisory business. It doesn’t take much other than a few prompts to generate a model portfolio based on relatively limited inputs. But as always, caveat emptor.
Starting with the Supersonic Tsunami Substack post, I asked ChatGPT to highlight potential investments. It named three “sleeves” of AI related opportunities: infrastructure, platforms, and second-order, or “adjacent beneficiaries.”
Chat recommended specific publicly traded companies and ETFs it thought would benefit from the areas highlighted in Peter’s post, as well as specific allocations for a “diversified” portfolio.
Infrastructure: NVIDIA (NVDA - 12%); Broadcom (AVGO - 8%); Super Micro Computer (SMCI - 6%); Vertiv (VRT - 5%); Utilities Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLU - 3%); Van Eck Semiconductor ETF (SMH - 2%); and iShares U.S. Telecommunications ETF (IGN - 2%).
Platform: Microsoft (MSFT - 12%); Amazon (AMZN - 9%); and Alphabet (GOOGL - 9%).
Second Order/ Adjacent: Rockwell Automation (ROK - 4%); Ingersoll Rand (IR - 3%); Palo Alto Networks (PANW - 4%); CrowdStrike (CRWD - 3%); Autodesk (ADSK - 4%); and Adobe (ADBE - 2%).
This should in no way be construed as investment advice, merely an illustration of the power of AI to think like a Chartered Financial Analyst and create a thematic investment portfolio in very short order and at virtually no cost.
Does the phrase “you get what you pay for” come to mind right about here?
As something of a reality check, I screened Chat’s picks using the Chaikin Analytics Power Gauge[4]. Of the 17 companies in the portfolio, three were rated Bullish or Very Bullish (VRT, XLU and IGN), ten were rated Neutral or Neutral + (NVDA, AVGO, SMCI, GRID, SMH, MSFT, GOOGL, ROK, ADSK and ADBE), and four were rated Bearish or Very Bearish (AMZN, IR, PANW, and CRWD).
Honestly? I’m scared stupid about the volatility of the market, in general, and the hype around these AI stocks, more specifically. I’m even more reluctant to rely on an unproven AI tool to pick stocks and construct portfolios around trendy concepts.
I do intend to keep playing around with all the new toys. I recently downloaded Anthropic’s Claude and hope to explore its Compute capabilities over the coming days and weeks. I saw an ad this morning that suggested it could help me do my taxes, but uncharacteristically, mine are already done for 2025.
And maybe that’s a good thing - Here are three takeaways offered by Entrepreneur.com[5] on using chatbots to do your taxes:
According to tax experts who spoke with Bloomberg, chatbots keep making mistakes with tax returns.
They give misinformed advice and are prone to misreading digits on tax documents.
A Loyola University Chicago study found that chatbots answered a simple tax question incorrectly two-thirds of the time.
Incorrect wo thirds of the time?!? That sounds like my performance on my Cost Accounting final!
On that happy note, I think I’ll wrap this up.
[1] Peter Diamandis | Go Big, Create Wealth, Impact the World
[2] What is Singularity? Founded by Futurists Peter Diamandis and Ray Kurzweil
[3] The Singularity Is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology: Kurzweil, Ray: 8601405784551: Amazon.com: Books
[4] Chaikin Analytics: Investing tools and research from Marc Chaikin & Team
[5] Here’s What to Know Before Filing Taxes Using ChatGPT or Claude
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The content of One Man’s Opinion is for informational and educational purposes only and should not be considered investment, legal, or financial advice. The views expressed are solely those of the author and do not reflect the opinions of any past or present employers or affiliated institutions.
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