Is it really true that the assembly line made us all a lot richer? The conventional wisdom is that a lot of people became poorer, especially in the short term (because trades/artisan jobs went away). Why shouldn’t we expect the same thing from AI?
Edit: I bring this up because I think most people are concerned about the potential for a huge spike in inequality/unemployment.
Yes. It’s hard to find people who are poorer because of automation once we smooth over short-term losses.
What’s easier to find is people who felt poorer because they lost status, even though they actually had more purchasing power and could afford more and better goods. But they weren’t actually economically poorer, just felt poorer because other people got richer faster than them.
Is it really true that the assembly line made us all a lot richer? The conventional wisdom is that a lot of people became poorer, especially in the short term (because trades/artisan jobs went away). Why shouldn’t we expect the same thing from AI?
Edit: I bring this up because I think most people are concerned about the potential for a huge spike in inequality/unemployment.
Yes. It’s hard to find people who are poorer because of automation once we smooth over short-term losses.
What’s easier to find is people who felt poorer because they lost status, even though they actually had more purchasing power and could afford more and better goods. But they weren’t actually economically poorer, just felt poorer because other people got richer faster than them.