Facebook-parent Meta is preparing to spend up to $72 billion on AI infrastructure this year. Now concerns about the overspending and a potential tech bubble are mounting. However, according to Meta’s chief marketing officer and VP of analytics Alex Schultz feels that the investment strategy of the company is bold but far from irrational.As reported by Business Insider, speaking at the Web Summit in Lisbon, Schultz said that while the scale of investment made in AI may seem too much, it’s modest when viewed in historical context. Comparing it to the U.S. railroad bubble of the 19th century, he said, “It seems aggressive, but not crazy.” Recently, a Goldman Sachs analyst estimated that AI-related investment in the US is still under 1% of GDP and below the 2–5% seen during past tech booms.Schultz believes that Meta’s AI spending has already started paying off. Shultz emphasised that billions in revenue is being generated from improved advertising tools and smarter content ranking algorithms. The company expects to hit $200 billion in revenue this year and currently holds a $1.5 trillion market cap.The biggest transformation, according to Schultz, has been Meta’s pivot to recommending “unconnected content”—posts not tied to friends or followed pages.This shift, powered by AI, has helped Meta stay relevant: “We managed a massive disruption without becoming irrelevant.”Meta’s latest experiment, the Vibes feed, features short-form, AI-generated video content. Despite online criticism labeling it “AI slop,” Schultz said it shows strong user retention and represents “probably a large chunk of the future.”Along with this, Schultz also acknowledged the energy demands of video-generation models, but dismissed fears of environmental catastrophe, “Vibes isn’t that big — it’s not draining lakes or using multiple nuclear power stations.”He further stressed on the fact that Meta is also looking for sustainable solutions such as desalination and nuclear safety, as part of broader conversations around AI’s impact.Schultz concluded with a philosophical take on AI’s potential: “In general, humanity has the ability to have a lot more abundance than it does.” He argued that investing in technologies that make life more enjoyable is not frivolous, but essential.