Gartner says just 1 in 50 AI investments deliver transformational value. So is this the AI bubble bursting, or the smartest money in the room?In Episode 15 of The AI Values Podcast, Edosa Odaro and Lindley Gooden go head-to-head on the question every board is quietly asking: is the AI investment boom built on value, or on belief? With global AI spend racing past $2.5 trillion, the conversation cuts through the AI hype to separate the AI ROI that's real from the AI valuation that's just expectation, using the dot-com boom and the Victorian railway mania as the cautionary tale.THIS WEEK: Just Edosa and Lindley working one problem, the AI bubble question, from two different angles: governance and accountability versus personal, human value.WHAT IS COVERED► There are two AI economies running at once. One is value-based, built on real productivity gains. The other is expectation-based, built on valuation and hype. Most boards are only watching one of them.► The railway investment boom is the closest historical parallel. Enormous capital flooded in, but not every line got built, and not every line that was built ever delivered a return. Sound familiar?► "So valuable we wish we'd never asked the question whether it's worth it." That's Edosa's bar for genuine AI value, and it's a much higher bar than most current AI deployments clear.► AI washing gets called out directly. Sticking an "AI-driven" label on everything doesn't create AI ROI, it just adds noise to a market already struggling to tell value from belief.► Lindley makes the case that AI value is ultimately personal, not just organisational. Fewer chores, more room for the things that matter, that's the test that actually drives adoption.⏰ EPISODE TIMESTAMPS00:01 - The AI Bubble: Branding Exercise or Real Value? 00:35 - AI Investment and the Railroad Analogy 01:47 - AI Washing and the AI Hype Problem 03:29 - Not Every Railway Got Built: A Warning for AI Investment06:16 - Two Currencies: Value and Belief in the AI Economy 09:01 - AI ROI: Value Economy vs Expectation Economy 12:01 - Balancing AI Benefits Against Hidden Risk 12:36 - Closing Reflections──────────────────────────────────────ABOUT THE AI VALUES PODCAST:The AI Values Podcast is where leaders come to think clearly about the trade-offs behind AI adoption not just the opportunities. Hosted by Edosa Odaro (author, 'The Values of AI') and Lindley Gooden (author, 'The Future of Truth'), with weekly conversations at the intersection of AI, trust, governance, and the future of work.🎙 SUBSCRIBE to The AI Values Podcast for honest, rigorous conversations at the intersection of AI ethics, AI governance, and business leadership.◼ Find out more about The AI Values Institute ◼ Reach out: podcast@theaivalues.org ◼ Get the Weekly AI Values Dispatch ◼ Co-hosts: Edosa Odaro & Lindley GoodenListen to the The AI Values Podcast on:◼ Youtube◼ Apple Podcast