Artificial Intelligence and the Limits of Accumulation: Capital, Crisis, and the US Hegemonic Autumn in the World Market

Abstract

Contemporary capitalism is characterised by persistent overaccumulation, declining profitability, and intensified financialisation under conditions of hegemonic instability. This article argues that the recent surge in artificial intelligence (AI) investment functions less as the basis of a new productive regime than as a crisis response within financialised capitalism. Drawing on Marxian crisis theory, social structures of accumulation, and theories of hegemonic transition, the article shows how unprecedented AI capital expenditure coexists with persistent operating losses, speculative valuations, and fragile revenue models. These patterns indicate a flight toward financial expansion characteristic of hegemonic autumn. By reframing AI as a manifestation of accumulation crisis and hegemonic instability, the article challenges accounts that treat it as an autonomous driver of capitalist renewal.