Timnit Gebru Challenges Tech Billionaires’ AGI Narratives, Impacting AI and Crypto Markets
Prominent AI ethics researcher Timnit Gebru has publicly criticized tech billionaires promoting Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), labeling them a ‘fringe group’ lacking credibility among professionals in the field. This statement, made on June 17, 2025, via a widely circulated social media post, has sparked significant discussions in both tech and financial circles.
Gebru’s skepticism about AGI narratives has reinforced cautious sentiment in AI-related cryptocurrency projects. Traders are reassessing the speculative value of AGI-themed tokens and adjusting their AI coin portfolios accordingly. The immediate market reaction saw mixed responses from AI-focused tokens – Render Token (RNDR) dropped 3.2% to $6.45, while Fetch.ai (FET) gained 2.1% to $1.18 within 24 hours of her comments. Trading volumes for both tokens spiked, indicating heightened market interest driven by uncertainty.
The broader crypto market remained relatively stable, with Bitcoin (BTC) trading at $61,200, down 0.5% over the same period. This divergence highlights how sentiment around AI narratives can directly influence market movements. Gebru’s critique raises questions about the sustainability of AI hype, which has been a key driver for both stock and crypto valuations in this sector over the past year.
From a trading perspective, Gebru’s comments could signal potential short-term bearish pressure on AI-centric cryptocurrencies and stocks. Technical indicators show RNDR’s Relative Strength Index (RSI) dropped to 42, indicating oversold conditions, while FET shows a bullish divergence on the MACD line, hinting at potential upside if it breaks resistance at $1.20.
The correlation between AI tokens and tech stocks remains strong, with RNDR and FET showing a 0.7 correlation coefficient with NVIDIA (NVDA) stock movements over the past month. Monitoring NVDA’s performance will be critical to gauging crypto market direction. Institutional investors are reevaluating their positions in AI-related assets, with CoinShares reporting a net outflow of $30 million from AI-focused crypto funds in the week ending June 16, 2025.
For traders, the current environment offers both risks and opportunities – shorting overvalued AI tokens or stocks could be profitable, while dips in fundamentally strong projects might present buying opportunities. The interplay between stock market sentiment and crypto valuations remains a key area to watch, especially as tech sector volatility persists.
