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AI and Investing Series: What's Real, What's Hype and Where I'm Investing

Writer: Ian Ippolito
Ian Ippolito
Oct 15
3 min read

By Ian Ippolito · Last updated October 15, 2026 · Code of Ethics


Since March 2026, I've been writing about what AI can really do, what it's doing to jobs and companies, and how I'm investing my own money around it. I write as someone who builds software with AI every day and as an investor deciding where my own money goes. Here's every article in the series, in order.


AI investing series: cover images of the five articles, from AI writing software and a split railroad track to a data center and a business owner reading a long AI bill.

(Usual disclaimer: I'm just an investor expressing my personal opinion and am not an attorney, accountant nor your financial advisor. Consult your own financial professionals before making any financial decisions. Code of Ethics: To remove conflicts of interest that are rife on other sites, I/we do not accept ANY money from outside sponsors or platforms for ANYTHING. This includes but is not limited to: no money for postings, nor reviews, nor advertising, nor affiliate leads etc.


Nor do I/we negotiate special terms for ourselves in the club above what we negotiate for the benefit of members. Info may contain errors so use at your own risk. See Code of Ethics for more info.)


Why I'm Writing This Series


For years I was an AI skeptic. The boom looked like massive spending and hype with very little to show for it.


Then the 2026 Claude Code update made a sudden, dramatic improvement in one crucial area: writing software. I changed my mind, and Part 1 explains why.


Since then I've programmed with AI every day. That hands-on work has made me skeptical of many of the big predictions, even as I've become a believer in AI's power.


So the series checks the forecasts against what's actually happening, then asks the investor's question: which investments benefit from AI, and which are AI resistant?


And because I don't accept money from sponsors or platforms, nothing here is a paid placement.


The Series in Order


Part 1: How the 2026 Claude Code Update Turned a Long-time AI Skeptic into a Believer


Published March 20, 2026 · 16-minute read


The AI boom had been an expensive disappointment. Then Claude Code's latest release delivered a sudden and dramatic improvement in writing software. Why that matters, and why a major shift in jobs and the economy could be closer than you think.



Part 2: Now That AI Can Code Well, a Scientific and Economic Revolution Is Poised to Come Sooner than Most Expect


Published March 20, 2026 · 28-minute read


AI's new ability to code will speed up its own progress, and the timeline for profound scientific and economic change may be shorter than many expect. History is also littered with technologies that didn't deliver, so this part weighs the case for rapid change against the obstacles that could slow or derail it.



Part 3: Navigating the Future: AI's Impact on Investments


Published March 23, 2026 · 11-minute read


If AI fulfills its promise, the economic effects will be profound. This part lays out investment ideas for a world where AI actually delivers, including the rise of the AI-resistant investment.



Part 4: A Reality Check on AI Predictions: Three Major Forecasts That Haven't Held Up


Published October 2, 2026 · 14-minute read


AI was supposed to have already wiped out massive numbers of jobs, made software free and made software developers extinct. I check each of those forecasts against the jobs data, which is showing an AI boom, and against my own months of programming with AI.



Part 5: Why AI Is Costing Companies Far More Than Expected, and the Investments That Could Benefit


Published October 2, 2026 · 14-minute read


Some big companies have run through a year's AI budget in a few months, and the buildings and electricity needed to run AI are getting harder to come by. Here's where I'm investing around that scarcity, and which candidates have and haven't passed muster.



Coming Next: AI Agents That Run Your Errands


The next article looks at AI agents that act on your behalf.


This page is updated as each new part is published.

About Ian Ippolito
image1 - headshot.jpg

Ian Ippolito is an investor and serial entrepreneur. He has been interviewed by the Wall Street Journal, Business Week, Forbes, TIME, Fast Company, TechCrunch, CBS News, FOX News, USA Today, Bloomberg News, Realtor.com, CoStar News, Curbed and more.

 

Back in 2016, Ian was excited about the world of alternative investments. But he found too many questionable deals mixed in with the gems. And so-called investment clubs were overridden with blatant conflicts of interest and other critical challenges.

So he created The Private Investor Club (PIC) to solve these problems.  Like-minded investors gather in PIC to source new deals (which are otherwise hard to find). They use the collective knowledge of thousands of investors to pound sponsor claims and assumptions with group due-diligence. And they use the group's size to get millions of $ of discounts and specials deals (that they could never get on their own).

Unlike other clubs, PIC takes no compensation from sponsors for investors that ultimately invest  (removing that corrosive conflict of interest). And membership is free (removing another typical conflict).

Through word-of-mouth, the Private Investor Club club grew. Today, there are over 7,813+ members and over $20.8 billion in investable assets.

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Code of Ethics: To remove conflicts of interest that are rife on other sites/clubs, I / we do NOT accept any money from outside sponsors or platforms for ANYTHING. This includes but is not limited to: no money for postings, nor reviews, nor tutorials, nor guides, nor advertising, nor affiliate leads etc. Nor do I negotiate special terms for myself above what I negotiate for the benefit of members.

​

For clarity: I do receive monetary compensation in two ways: via donations or a club feeder. Site members can send donations (and a $200 donation entitles them to access my personal low-level due diligence notes on investments I've put money into). And if the club chooses to create a feeder, I take a fee as manager (and keep the excess beyond expenses). Very occasionally a sponsor may choose to reimburse some of the costs of creating a feeder as well. Additionally I receive the same non-monetary compensation all club members do: Access to otherwise inaccessible sponsors, millions of dollars of special deals and discounts, the satisfaction of giving back and helping others, and more.

I/we are just investors expressing our opinion, and are not an attorney, nor an accountant, nor your financial advisor. Always consult with your own licensed professional before making any investment decision. All information provided is personal opinion only, and does not constitute professional, financial, tax, legal or other advice. It may contain errors so use at your own risk.

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