PeopleofSuperintelligence

Public voice

Jeffrey Funk

Also known as Jeffrey Lee Funk, Jeffrey L. Funk, Jeff Funk

Jeffrey Funk is a technology writer and former professor whose work examines technology economics, investment bubbles and AI hype. After working in a semiconductor factory, he earned a PhD at Carnegie Mellon and researched computer-integrated manufacturing at Westinghouse. At Hitotsubashi, he studied mobile industries and wrote books about the mobile Internet and new industries. His essays, Salon articles and podcast appearances examine technology hype through AI chatbots and large language models. As of October 2026, he is an independent technology consultant and a fellow of the Walter Bradley Center for Natural and Artificial Intelligence, and he writes about the AI bubble.

Born
1956
Links
LinkedIn

Years link to their sources.

Timeline

  1. By 1987

    PhD and a CIM working paper

    After working in a semiconductor factory for two years, he earns a PhD at Carnegie Mellon. By 1987, he is at Westinghouse’s R&D center, where he and Robert U. Ayres write an IIASA working paper on estimating the economic benefits of computer-integrated manufacturing (CIM) technologies.

  2. 2004

    Mobile Disruption at Hitotsubashi

    At Hitotsubashi University, he is a professor of business and studies 19 electronics industries through its Institute of Innovation Research. Wiley publishes Mobile Disruption in 2004 on technologies and applications driving the mobile Internet. His consulting includes NTT DoCoMo, Nokia and KPN, and in 2004 he urges mobile service providers to focus on apps.

  3. 2004

    An NTT DoCoMo award

    He wins the NTT DoCoMo Mobile Science Award in 2004 for research on the social science aspects of mobile communication.

  4. 2013

    Technology Change and New Industries

    In 2013, Stanford University Press publishes his book Technology Change and the Rise of New Industries, which examines why new industries emerge at specific times and in certain countries.

  5. 2019

    Technology economics and hype

    Across his career, he holds faculty posts at Penn State, Kobe, Hitotsubashi and the National University of Singapore; at NUS, he teaches a course on the economics of new technologies for seven years. In fall 2019, Issues in Science & Technology publishes his essay “What’s Behind Technological Hype?”; Scientific American publishes “The Downside of Tech Hype” in November 2019.

  6. February 2023–March 2024

    AI chatbots and Salon essays

    A retired professor, he writes a series of Salon essays on AI chatbots with Gary N. Smith. In February 2023, their essay “AI chatbots are having their ‘tulip mania’ moment” compares investor excitement over ChatGPT and Google’s LaMDA to speculative mania and recounts LaMDA’s wrong answer about the James Webb Space Telescope. In March 2024, he discusses AI hype and GPT-3’s limits with Robert J. Marks on Mind Matters.

  7. October 2024–March 2025

    Unicorns, Hype, and Bubbles

    In October 2024, Harriman House publishes his book Unicorns, Hype, and Bubbles, which offers tools to assess bubbles in cryptocurrencies, the metaverse, self-driving vehicles and delivery drones. In March 2025, he discusses the book and the likely bubble around generative AI with Lee Vinsel on New Books Network.

  8. As of October 2026

    A fellow writing on AI bubbles

    As of October 2026, he is an independent technology consultant and a fellow of the Discovery Institute’s Walter Bradley Center for Natural and Artificial Intelligence. In December 2025, he publishes “The Generative AI Bubble Has Begun to Pop”; in September 2026, he writes “What’s Unique About AI? Every Bubble is Different.”

Career

  1. NowDiscovery InstituteFellow
  2. Hitotsubashi UniversityProfessor of Business
  3. Pennsylvania State UniversityFaculty
  4. National University of SingaporeFaculty

Education

  1. Carnegie Mellon UniversityPhD

From the biography.

  1. People shaping AI work at a median of 3 organizations over a career: 3 for university starters and institute and lab starters, versus 2 for company startersIncludes National University of Singapore. Across 6,853 people shaping AI with a dated work role, we estimate a median of 3 parent organizations over a career (mean 3.6), comparing role groups, starting sectors and starting decades from the 1950s to 2020–2026.
  2. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology trained or employed 44 of the 187 AI major-prize winners, more than any other universityIncludes Pennsylvania State University. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology trained or employed 44 of the 187 AI major-prize winners, more than any other university. We compare doctorate and 5+ year employment links, career timing and current workplaces for 187 major-prize and 1,111 best-paper winners.
  3. The United States employs an estimated 48% of people shaping AIIncludes National University of Singapore. We estimate where the people shaping AI work today, how universities, companies and research institutes split across countries, and how country shares have changed since the 1960s.
  4. More people shaping AI studied at Massachusetts Institute of Technology than at any other institutionIncludes National University of Singapore. We estimate where the people shaping AI studied and where their careers led. Massachusetts Institute of Technology leads with 467 former students, including 291 recorded doctorates.

Sources and credits

Photo: We have no published photo of Jeffrey Funk yet. Send us a free-licensed photo.

  1. Jeffrey Funk - Is There an AI Bubble Coming? edbrenegar.substack.com. Checked 21 October 2026.
  2. Social Benefits of CIM: Labor and Capital Augmentation by Industrial Robots and NC Machine Tools in the Japanese Manufacturing Industry (Paper II) pure.iiasa.ac.at. Checked 21 October 2026.
  3. Mobile Disruption – Exclusive Books Online exclusivebooks.co.za. Checked 21 October 2026.
  4. Technology Trajectories and the Birth of New Industries sloanreview.mit.edu. Checked 21 October 2026.
  5. The Downside of Tech Hype | Scientific American scientificamerican.com. Checked 21 October 2026.
  6. Technology Change and the Rise of New Industries - Jeffrey L. Funk - Google Books books.google.com. Checked 21 October 2026.
  7. Jeffrey Funk, Author at ProMarket promarket.org. Checked 21 October 2026.
  8. Combatting Tech Hype issues.org. Checked 21 October 2026.
  9. Jeffrey Lee Funk - Salon.com salon.com. Checked 21 October 2026.
  10. AI chatbots are having their "tulip mania" moment - Salon.com salon.com. Checked 21 October 2026.
  11. The State of Innovation and the Impact of AI | Mind Matters mindmatters.ai. Checked 21 October 2026.
  12. Jeffrey Lee Funk on Unicorns, Hype, and Bubbles: A Guide to Spotting, Avoiding, and Exploiting Investment Bubbles in Tech - New Books Network newbooksnetwork.com. Checked 21 October 2026.
  13. Unicorns, Hype, and Bubbles by Jeffrey Funk - Harriman House harriman-house.com. Checked 21 October 2026.
  14. Jeffrey Funk | Discovery Institute discovery.org. Checked 21 October 2026.
  15. The Generative AI Bubble Has Begun to Pop | Mind Matters mindmatters.ai. Checked 21 October 2026.
  16. What’s Unique About AI? Every Bubble is Different | Mind Matters mindmatters.ai. Checked 21 October 2026.