Predicting AI In 2026: A Year Of Consequence

January 5, 2026, Opinion: "After three years of build first, ask questions later, AI in 2026 is entering a new phase. Deutsche Bank projects data center spending could reach $4 trillion by 2030, but the industry is already confronting hard limits on energy, talent and measurable returns. The era of pure scaling is giving way to something more complex: selective capital deployment, architectural innovation beyond large language models, enterprise buyers demanding ROI and Washington preparing to legislate."