🧨 INTRO: From Enron to AI—Jim Chanos Is Back, and He’s Not Buying the Hype

If you thought the “golden age of fraud” was peak Wall Street drama, billionaire investor Jim Chanos is here to tell you: we’ve leveled up. We’re now in the platinum age of fraud, where AI startups promise to revolutionize everything from your inbox to your immune system—and deliver absolutely none of it.

Chanos, who famously shorted Enron before it became the Titanic of energy companies, is sounding the alarm again. And this time, the iceberg is artificial intelligence. Or more accurately, artificially intelligent marketing departments.

🧪 Silicon Valley’s Favorite Game: “Fake It Till You IPO”

Back in 2020, Chanos told the Financial Times that Silicon Valley’s “fake it till you make it” culture had ushered in a golden age of fraud. Fast forward five years, and the AI boom has turned that gold into platinum—because nothing says “trust us” like a startup claiming its chatbot can cure loneliness, write novels, and do your taxes.

The S&P 500 is up 10% this year, mostly thanks to the Magnificent Seven tech giants. Their spending on AI was so massive it added 0.5% to U.S. GDP growth. That’s right—AI is now responsible for more economic growth than your cousin’s Etsy side hustle and the entire avocado toast industry combined.

But here’s the kicker: according to MIT, only 5% of AI pilot programs actually generated revenue. The other 95%? They’re still trying to figure out how to get ChatGPT to stop hallucinating and calling itself your therapist.

🧠 Jim Chanos: The Fraud Whisperer

“It’s one of my long-held views that the fraud cycle always follows the financial cycle with a lag,” Chanos said. “And we’re definitely seeing that now.”

Translation: If your startup’s pitch deck includes the words “AI-powered,” “revolutionary,” and “synergy,” there’s a 70% chance it’s just three guys in a WeWork using Excel and praying for Series A funding.

🛒 Case Study: Nate the Not-So-Great

Let’s talk about Nate, the shopping-tech startup that claimed AI was helping users check out faster. Turns out, it wasn’t AI—it was human workers in the Philippines and Romania manually clicking “Buy Now.” That’s not artificial intelligence. That’s outsourcing with a side of securities fraud.

Former CEO Albert Saniger now faces charges of wire fraud and securities fraud. And Nate? It ghosted Fortune’s request for comment harder than your ex ghosted your texts after you mentioned “crypto.”

🎭 Deepfakes, Deep Trouble

While Chanos focuses on financial fraud, the AI boom is also giving us deepfake scams that make catfishing look quaint. Tianyi Zhang from Ant International says over 70% of new client enrollments in some markets are deepfake attempts. That’s not just fraud—that’s identity theft with a Hollywood budget.

There are now over 150 types of deepfake attacks. Which means your next Zoom call might be with someone who looks like your boss, sounds like your boss, but is actually a guy in Belarus trying to get your Venmo password.

📉 Nvidia’s Vibe Shift: When Earnings Aren’t Enough

Even Nvidia, the poster child of AI hardware, isn’t immune. Despite reporting $46.7 billion in Q2 revenue—a 56% year-over-year boost—its stock dipped because of a data-center revenue miss. Investors are starting to realize that AI hype doesn’t always translate to AI profit.

It’s like buying a Tesla because Elon Musk tweeted it could fly. Then realizing it’s just a car with a really expensive dashboard.

🧾 Regulation? LOL.

“There’s no doubt that this financial cycle has likely surpassed the dotcom era in terms of enthusiasm, valuations, and capital markets activity,” Chanos said. “So now, we just have to see how it plays out.”

Spoiler alert: it’s going to play out like a Netflix docuseries. Episode 1: “Startup Dreams.” Episode 2: “Investor Nightmares.” Episode 3: “Federal Indictments.”

🧠 How to Spot an AI Scam in the Wild

• Buzzword Bingo: If the pitch includes “machine learning,” “neural networks,” and “disruption,” but no actual product, run.
• Mystery Metrics: If the startup claims “exponential growth” but won’t show you a balance sheet, it’s probably growing like mold.
• Celebrity Endorsements: If they’ve got a TikTok influencer hyping their AI app, it’s either a scam or a dating app. Possibly both.

🧨 Final Thoughts: Fraud Is the New Unicorn

In today’s tech landscape, fraud isn’t a bug—it’s a feature. Investors are so desperate to ride the AI wave that they’re ignoring the fact that most of these companies are surfing on a pool of empty promises.

Jim Chanos has seen this movie before. He shorted Enron, watched Silicon Valley turn vaporware into IPOs, and now he’s watching AI become the new religion of Wall Street—with ChatGPT as its prophet and deepfakes as its disciples.

So buckle up, America. The platinum age of fraud is here. And it’s got better branding than ever.