The CEO who thinks AI critics will blink first.

Cyrus Beschloss, CEO of data marketplace Verb, has a theory about people who say they hate AI. They're lying, or at least fibbing with significant conviction.

Speaking on Wednesday at CNBC's Trading the Midterms event, Beschloss pointed out that vocal opponents of data centres and AI development are, in practice, users of ChatGPT. When the moment comes to actually shut it down, he said, "there's going to be a heck of a crossroads."

He's probably not wrong, and that's the uncomfortable part. A Gallup survey from May found that seven in ten Americans oppose building a data centre near their homes, which is a strong position to hold while asking Claude to fix your cover letter at midnight. The gap between stated principle and actual behaviour is a real thing, and Beschloss is correct to notice it.

What he's less keen to dwell on is that noticing the hypocrisy doesn't resolve the underlying question. People can be genuinely conflicted. Wanting a useful tool and worrying about what it costs the planet are not mutually exclusive positions. They're just an uncomfortable place to live.