Rapidly evolving AI technology challenges stock investors with plenty of moving targets. Where should you aim in 2024?

Artificial intelligence burst on to the scene with a bang in 2023. While AI has been with us in one iteration or another for more decades than we realize, only recently has it popped up on the radar of the public, investors, workers, company executives, politicians and the media.

Today, AI is quickly expanding from ChatGPT, the Chatbot from OpenAI, to Generative AI and next to Conversational AI. The field is growing rapidly, challenging stock investors with a lot of moving targets. So, let us look at what is coming next.

While AI is all very exciting, it’s also very confusing. While fortunes can and will be made, they can and will also be lost if you bet on the wrong horse or at the wrong time. Timing can be very important in this fast-changing industry. 

So, it is important to understand that while there are countless great investment and employment opportunities, not all will flourish in the long-term or at the same pace. 

That’s why having a better understanding of this moving and changing target is key.

Let me give you an example. You remember all the excitement in the 1990’s with the Internet. This was new and it changed our world, virtually overnight.

There were countless companies which quickly popped up and it seemed everybody was a winner. It was like the Oprah show when everyone in the audience won a new car. You get a car. You get a car. You get a car. Then around the year 2000 the bubble burst and many of these new companies quickly disappeared.

Amazon, Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Apple are long-term winners

Only some companies lasted in the long run, like Amazon AMZN , Google GOOG , Facebook META , Microsoft MSFT , Apple AAPL and fortunately plenty of others. But many did not. 

It was good to be an investor in or a worker for the right companies. The ones which disappeared overnight when the bubble burst … not so much. That’s why it is important to find long-term winners. 

That same kind of growth opportunity and challenge is what we face today in this quickly expanding and changing world of AI. That’s why we need to better understand which companies will stick around and grow.

There are many different types of AI technologies and companies to be aware of. These fit into one of three categories. Either they are long-term winners, or they are short-term winners or there are those who only seem like winners, but then will quickly fade away when the initial fog of confusion clears.

Obviously, you want to find the companies who will be long-term winners. Companies you can stick with in the long run.

Of course, sometimes investors like to find the short-term winners as well. These can be shooting stars, shining bright, but then quickly fading away. Just realize, with these you need to stay alert and exit before their growth curve crests and starts to decline. 

Over time this has impacted countless companies. Remember, even big-time success stories like Motorola and Blackberry fell victim to a rapidly changing marketplace when the iPhone and Android were introduced.

When ChatGPT caught our attention a year ago we thought that was it. Then Generative AI came to our attention. Next, I expect Conversational AI to come on strong in 2024. Plus, there will be many more segments which will pop up going forward.

Remember, while these are all real segments, not all of them will be long-term growth opportunities. Some will be short-term shooting stars. That’s why we need to get better at determining the companies which will be long-term winners, short-term winners, and those who only appear to be winners while the industry is still in the fog of excitement.

As an investor or worker, we also have a choice. We need to ask whether we want to work with these shooting stars in a rapidly changing industry, or do we stick with other powerhouse companies who are just using AI to fuel their business growth?

AI winners including Microsoft, Google, Apple, Meta, X and more

There are many companies who will be long-term users of AI technology like Microsoft, Google, Apple, Meta or Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), SpaceX, Blue Origin and so many others, large and small, new and old. However, these are not companies who built AI. Rather, they use AI to continue to grow to new levels using this new technology. 

There are also plenty of companies in the AI space itself. Companies which are not as well known, but are developing new AI technology. These are companies like OpenAI, which created ChatGPT and partners with Microsoft. 

There are so many smaller companies with breakthrough technology who are all trying to figure out how to be noticed in a noisy marketplace. Some of these companies will remain independent. Others will be acquired. Some of these companies with breakthrough ideas are contacting me to get on my radar so I can talk about them and help them get noticed. Get heard above the loud and chaotic level of industry noise. 

To tell you the truth, I find this very exciting and based on what I am seeing, 2024 will be another exciting year and an explosive growth opportunity. I will talk about these companies and technologies going forward. That being said, it is important for you to always keep learning yourself about every corner of this rapidly changing and expanding AI technology pie. 

Stay alert in 2024 for new AI growth opportunities

Remember, what is hot today may not be hot tomorrow. The growth wave continues to move forward. Some companies and technologies will continue to ride the growth wave while others will not.

Like with the Internet in the 1990’s, AI today is both exciting and terrifying in trying to pick the right companies to invest in and work for in the long-term. 

AI as an industry has been with us longer than most of us have been alive. And it will continue to rapidly grow, advance and change. Today we are still in the very early stages of an enormous, long-term and rapid AI growth wave.