Trump is all-in on AI. That could end terribly.

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Donald Trump may not know much about technology, but he knows when he sees dollar signs, and because of that, he's fully committed himself to the AI industry. Trump is constantly hyping AI, and he's directed his administration to support its growth. At a time when the industry's future is very much in question, that's a risky bet.

Investments in AI are essentially propping up the entire economy at this point. As economists like Paul Krugman have noted, we'd most likely be looking at a pretty weak economy if it weren't for those investments. We might even be in a recession. Around 40 percent of the S&P 500's market cap is now tied to a handful of AI companies. Everything's computer, if you will.

It's widely believed that we may be looking at an AI bubble, which could pop within the next year. If that happens, and we see a major economic downturn because of it, Trump might end up regretting going all in on AI.

Trump is currently considering issuing an executive order that would attempt to ban states from regulating AI. On his first day in office, he rescinded a Biden executive order that was meant to establish safeguards for the development and use of AI. The Trump administration has taken a 10 percent stake in Intel, which produces AI processors.

Trump wants to use coal to power AI data centers, which have been increasing consumer energy prices. He created a tariff exemption for the parts AI companies need to import. The administration has sought large foreign investments for the AI industry. Industry leaders like Sam Altman follow Trump around like a puppy, and major tech companies are helping pay for his oversized ballroom.

I could go on. Trump is bear-hugging the AI industry, and his political future is now tied to its success. Meanwhile, many of the companies that made large investments in adopting new AI tools appear to be questioning whether they will be as useful as they had hoped. That'll happen when the people selling you these tools make extravagant claims about what they can do.

What does all of this mean for us? Well, it means we could very well be living under a house of cards, and we might be in for some real economic pain in the not-too-distant future if things don't go the way Trump is hoping they will. If the AI bubble bursts, maybe these AI companies will receive an unpopular bailout, but you will not.

As far as I can tell, Trump is doing what he's doing because all he can see is where the money is moving. He's not a long-term thinker. Everything's a cash grab. For now, the money is with these AI companies, so that's where Trump is. He doesn't have the foresight to consider why the moves he's making might prove disastrous.

I'm not saying the AI industry is going to suddenly crumble and disappear, but if there is a major shock to the economy because this is, in fact, a bubble, we're in for some serious problems. On the bright side, maybe that'll doom Trump and the Republican Party electorally, as voters stage a revolt against them.

If this is a bubble, and I believe it is, we won't know until it pops. That could happen in a couple months or a couple years. I'd guess that it'll be closer to the former. In the meantime, Trump and his cronies will continue to live it up like it's the Roaring Twenties—while failing to remember what came after that.