This is a talking point that plays into the frontier labs' desire to be seen as "too big to fail". While yes, several hundred billion dollars have been invested in AI, (a) much of this is in the form of circular Monopoly-money deals, and (b) the US GDP is over $30 trillion annually. The real economy - the one that makes food, builds homes, provides medical care, etc. - is so much bigger and more important than the AI industry.

That's not to say that an (inevitable?) AI crash won't be the spark that ignites a big recession. We are well overdue for one.