In Trump’s case, the pact makes the AI companies partners in responsibility for restraining consumers’ electricity costs. The tech companies joining with the president are in an all-out race to dominate AI services, and want a brand that is consumer friendly, not the opposite.

For most of the past decade, investors have had to pay exorbitant prices to own a piece of the world’s biggest technology companies. But that’s changing as AI euphoria gives way to skepticism.