Bret WarshawskyFounder, Storylivingry Studio · A Civil Rights Moviement for the Soul

The Impact of AI on Society: Breaking the Traditional Economic Model

17 Oct 2023 · 1 min

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In this monologue, the speaker argues that artificial intelligence fundamentally disrupts the neoclassical economic framework that models production with two inputs—capital (K) and labor (L). He questions whether AI should be classified as labor, capital, or something entirely new, and points out that AI is displacing humans from repetitive tasks at all skill levels, from low‑skill routine work to high‑skill procedural tasks like those performed by neurosurgeons. This widespread displacement, he claims, invalidates the traditional capitalist model that assumes a steady progression of workers into higher‑value roles.

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What effect is that going to have on society? Am I right? You just lost your capitalist model. You have a model with 2 inputs called K and L that's taught in every university that subscribes to neoclassical economics. What's AI? Is it L? Is it labor? Is it capital? What the heck is it? This is the first time that humans are not being chased into higher and higher levels of work. We're being chased out of repetitive work, whether it's high-level repetitive work in the way that a neurosurgeon might perform, or low-level repetitive work. So your model of economics just broke.