From "The Limits to Growth" to peak oil and beyond: As a rule, scarcity doom and neo-malthusianism hasn't played out the way proponents claim. I've been very cr

From "The Limits to Growth" to peak oil and beyond: As a rule, scarcity doom and neo-malthusianism hasn't played out the way proponents claim. I've been very critical of the AI hype cycle here and elsewhere, but this isn't it. In the long run technological advancements increase our productivity and quality of life. Yes, much of what is being promoted is slop. Yes, this bubble is driven by an overly financialized economy. That doesn't preclude the possibility of AI models precipitating meaningful advancements in the human condition. From refrigeration to transportation, cheap and abundant energy has been one of the major driving forces in human advancement. Paradoxically, consuming cheap energy doesn't reduce the amount of energy available on the market. Instead it increases the size of the market.