AI Is Driving US Growth With Economy Plunged in Data Blackout

There’s no official read on how fast the US economy grew last quarter, thanks to the government shutdown. But almost everyone reckons it was a healthy pace — and that’s largely thanks to AI.

The technology has emerged as a crucial engine of growth, at a time when hiring is slow and traditional drivers like housing have stalled. Business investment in equipment and software are soaring. Data centers are a rare bright spot for US builders. And the juggernaut keeps rolling: just three tech titans racked up $78 billion of capital spending between them in the third quarter, almost double ...