You're referring to the 'Productivity Paradox'[0] as summarized by Robert Solow in 1987: "You can see the computer age everywhere but in the productivity statis

You're referring to the 'Productivity Paradox'[0] as summarized by Robert Solow in 1987: "You can see the computer age everywhere but in the productivity statistics." Summary of possible explanations from the wikipedia article: 1. Computers made the biggest productivity gains early in their life (50s-70s) when they were used by banks and airlines. 2. Industrialization was a far bigger revolution. 3. Computers demand more training and attention than dumb machines which reduces their benefits. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Productivity_paradox https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Productivity_paradox