AI Economics for Dummies

“Xavier owns an apartment that he rents out at a loss of $1 billion/month. Seeing this success, he decides to make financial commitments to construct $850 bi...

McSweeney's Internet Tendency

@Illuminatus "The Wall Street Journal’s business editor moves into Alex’s house, having accepted a part-time position as Alex’s human footstool. He never asks to see the books."

I love this

@Illuminatus @cstross
Read to the end. The payoff says it all

@Illuminatus this one is pretty spot on:

> Benjamin owns a farm. He employs 100 workers plowing his fields. His total payroll is $10 million/year. One day, he buys a mule, which provides the worker who uses it with a modest 10 percent productivity gain. Benjamin fires 99 of his workers and purchases 99 mules, expecting a 1,000 percent productivity gain. The driverless mules cause plow damage to his property in excess of $50 million. Benjamin loses another $5 million due to the loss of productivity from his one remaining employee, who no longer guides a plow but instead spends 100 percent of his time shoveling mule shit.

~ https://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/ai-economics-for-dummies

AI Economics for Dummies

“Xavier owns an apartment that he rents out at a loss of $1 billion/month. Seeing this success, he decides to make financial commitments to construct $850 bi...

McSweeney's Internet Tendency
@schmudde @Illuminatus I'm going to get "In a fit of late-capitalist bloodlust" tattooed on my lower back.
@Illuminatus how come my math teacher never taught me that you can extrapolate everything to infinity?
@crouton Guess he never read Milton Friedman, Ludwig von Mises and Friedrich Hayek.
@Illuminatus "Benjamin loses another $5 million due to the loss of productivity from his one remaining employee, who no longer guides a plow but instead spends 100 percent of his time shoveling mule shit." 😂

@Illuminatus 🤣😭

"Benjamin owns a farm. He employs 100 workers plowing his fields. His total payroll is $10 million/year. One day, he buys a mule, which provides the worker who uses it with a modest 10 percent productivity gain. Benjamin fires 99 of his workers and purchases 99 mules, expecting a 1,000 percent productivity gain. … "

👆 "… We hope these examples help clarify the inner workings of AI economics. But if you’re still confused, all you really need to know is that everything is totally working and everyone is making a lot of money, and you should just stop asking questions, luddite."
@Illuminatus I'm glad to see that the financial side of AI is rock solid. I had some worries because of the doomsayers talking about a b-word.