AI buzz is far from a bubble — the game has yet to start

CNBC’s Jim Cramer on Wednesday contended the impact of artificial intelligence on business and the stock market isn’t yet fully realized, pushing back on suggestions it’s just buzzy tech losing its luster.

“It’s clear that lots of investors have no idea what AI is,” Cramer said on “Mad Money.” “In fairness, the reason they have no idea is because we really haven’t even seen anything transformative from the AI camp just yet.”

Cramer cautioned that it isn’t prudent to so quickly dismiss AI bellwethers like chipmaker Nvidia in favor of high-performing refinery and dollar store stocks. He said that kind of outlook amounts to investors saying, “Move over, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, it’s all about the oils and the gold.”

“In terms of innings, I don’t think the AI game has even started yet,” Cramer said.

Expanding his baseball metaphor, Cramer said AI is in its batting practice stage but may eventually replace many “undesirable” jobs involving physical labor. In potentially doing so, AI could become a tool for kickstarting businesses that wouldn’t otherwise have enough funds to open their doors, he said.

“The most difficult aspects of generative AI and large language models have to do with our inability to grasp what can actually be changed here,” Cramer said. “Most of us have a hard time seeing things out 10 minutes.”