Germany’s youngest full professor has warned that the artificial-intelligence boom is inflating a speculative bubble that could burst within months, as leading technologists and historians debate whether the technology will reshape—or destroy—global industries.

Alicia von Schenk, 30, who last week took the newly created chair for “Economics of AI” at the University of Würzburg, told the *Handelsblatt* that investors and policymakers are ignoring structural weaknesses in the sector. “The hype is obscuring the real bottlenecks,” she said. “We are seeing capital misallocation on a scale not seen since the dot-com era.” Von Schenk, whose appointment was announced on 19 June 2026, added that Germany’s Mittelstand firms risk being priced out of AI adoption by venture-capital flows that favour flashy start-ups over sustainable infrastructure.

The warning comes as Stuart Russell, author of the field’s most-cited textbook, told the same newspaper that there is a 75 % probability of a “correction” within the next twelve months. Russell, whose third edition of *Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach* was released in January 2026, argued that AI systems will soon displace senior executives in routine decision-making and could become an “existential risk” if left unregulated. “We are outsourcing judgment to machines without understanding the long-term consequences,” he said. Russell’s forecast aligns with a growing consensus among macro-economists that the current investment cycle is unsustainable.

Historian Margaret O’Mara, whose archival interview was republished today, drew a parallel between today’s Silicon Valley billionaires and the 19th-century robber barons. “The playbook is identical: monopolise data, capture regulators, and sell the myth of inevitable progress,” she told the *Handelsblatt*. O’Mara’s research, based on declassified archives from the 1890s, suggests that unchecked tech elites have historically triggered social backlash once the economic benefits fail to materialise.

Meanwhile, the first AI-native home-energy platform made its European debut at Intersolar Europe 2026 in Munich, signalling that the technology is already moving from laboratory to living room. Tuya Smart’s Conow system, powered by Tuya’s proprietary AI stack, promises to cut household electricity bills by up to 22 % through predictive load balancing. The product launch on 20 June 2026 underscores how AI is quietly penetrating sectors beyond software.

In a separate development, researchers in Italy announced a $1 million prize for anyone who can decipher carbonised Roman scrolls using AI-assisted imaging. The Herculaneum papyri, preserved by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD, have resisted all previous attempts at transcription. The team, which includes engineers from the University of Naples, said machine-learning models trained on 2,000-year-old ink residues could unlock an entire lost library.

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Articles

Tuya Smart: Tuya-powered Conow Makes Major European Debut at Intersolar Europe 2026 with Its AI-Native Home Energy Portfolio

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