(TNND) — Today’s titans of technology have embarked on an artificial intelligence build-out that could eclipse the railroad expansion of the 1850s in relative scale, according to a new report from CBRE.
Big tech companies called hyperscalers – such as Google, Amazon and Microsoft – are projected to spend $3.7 trillion on AI infrastructure over the next five years, CBRE said.
Julie Whelan, head of occupier research at CBRE, called the build-out of AI infrastructure “historic” and said it should position the U.S. over the long-term to remain globally competitive with a growing economy.
CBRE, the world’s largest commercial real estate services and investment firm, on Thursday released the first of a four-part series focused on AI.
The first report focused on AI’s impact on workers and the wider economy. The next will focus on AI’s impact on office demand.
“Like all major trends reshaping how we use spaces and places, we wanted to understand how AI is changing the way buildings are designed, used and run,” Whelan said via email.
Whelan said tech companies are pouring massive amounts of money into AI.
While many are concerned that AI will have a negative impact on jobs, she said the more relevant story is how it will change what jobs look like.
“The reality is workers will adapt and new roles will emerge, much like how many of today’s careers didn’t even exist 25 years ago,” Whelan said. “And with fewer working-age people entering the workforce, AI might be what keeps the economy growing.”
Nearly 80% of American companies are using AI, but 90% report little impact on their business so far, according to CBRE.
We seem to be just scratching the surface of how AI is expected to change the working world.
For example, CBRE said employment among entry-level workers in the most AI-exposed jobs has been lower over the last few years compared with those in less-exposed roles.
CBRE acknowledged there are doomsayers and skeptics when it comes to AI’s impact on jobs. And it said forecasts range from massive displacement to a utopian outcome.
Other reports have touched on the concerns over AI in the workforce.
A Pew Research Center report last year found that worry outweighed hope over AI in the workforce, with around a third of workers expecting AI to reduce job opportunities.
Vital pathways to better-paying jobs for millions of Americans are under threat from AI, according to another report from Brookings Metro and Opportunity@Work.
And the cloud of uncertainty over AI has nearly half of college students reconsidering their majors, according to another recent report from Gallup and the Lumina Foundation.
But not all reports have painted a troubling picture.
For example, the University of Phoenix Career Institute recently published a report that found AI skills give workers confidence to go out and find better jobs.
And LinkedIn career expert Andrew Seaman previously told The National News Desk that companies still see the limitations in AI and are searching for skills that are innately human, such as cross-team collaboration, client relations, leadership training and more.
CBRE, meanwhile, said job composition should change more than job count, and roles will more likely be reconfigured than replaced.
CBRE compared the AI transformation to technological transformations of the past, including the internet and smartphones.
And it said office-using jobs have historically grown fastest following major technological advancements.
CBRE said that’s expected this time, too, though to a lesser degree. Whelan said early signs point to steady demand for office space, particularly in major markets with deep pools of skilled talent and growing industries.
Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images, file
Whelan said the most immediate impact is being felt in data centers and industrial real estate.
Data center construction today is 12 times what it was in 2020, she said.
And manufacturing leasing is up 28% from early 2025, largely driven by industries supporting the tech firms building out the AI infrastructure.
FILE – In this handout provided by Amazon, a technician works at an Amazon Web Services AI data center in New Carlisle, Indiana on October 2, 2025. (Photo by Noah Berger/Getty Images via Amazon Web Services)
CBRE said U.S.-based AI startups have raised roughly $578 billion in venture capital since 2020, with nearly three-quarters of that in the past two years.
CBRE reported that AI buildout last year was equivalent to nearly half of all U.S. gross domestic product growth, compared with just 8% in 2023 and 2024.
And another recent CBRE report showed the North American data center market is setting records for growth amid soaring demand from AI development, cloud computing, e-commerce and more.