Don't Abandon Data-Centric Themes! Financial Expert Predicts AI Spending Will 'Continue Rapid Growth'

CNBC financial show host Jim Cramer said Wednesday that despite recent market volatility due to growing concerns over artificial intelligence (AI) safety, he remains optimistic about AI investment themes.

Cramer attended Salesforce's (CRM-US) annual Dreamforce conference in San Francisco this week and spoke with key figures in the AI industry. He said that even as debate intensifies over whether the pace of developing powerful AI models is too fast, he expects AI spending to continue.

The debate intensified after Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei published an article over the weekend calling for advanced AI labs to slow down model development so safety measures can catch up.

Cramer said, "I believe spending will continue to grow rapidly," because both Anthropic and OpenAI are driving revenue growth through AI investments. "They won't slow down the important parts of their business. Honestly, I doubt they'll slow down much at all, because the stakes are just too high—it's impossible to stop now."

He added, "That's why, once the impact from the Federal Reserve (Fed) fades, I believe all companies manufacturing components for data centers are worth buying."

Cramer acknowledged the risks raised by Amodei and said AI may require additional safety safeguards. However, he does not believe these concerns will stall AI spending.

He also suggested that increasingly capable AI agents could further boost demand for cybersecurity. "In this area, I have to rely on Palo Alto (PANW-US), Okta (OKTA-US), CrowdStrike (CRWD-US), and other companies to stay one step ahead of adversaries. Historically, this has been a relatively reliable bet."

Cramer concluded that conversations with industry leaders during Dreamforce convinced him that the AI industry still has time to address related risks without halting development.

He said, "I asked every executive I met if I should start preparing for my 2030 'execution'... In the end, my takeaway is that we still have some time to get things right, but either way, we must solve these problems."