AI and the political economy of the next technological age.

There are times in history when technology upends society.  We may or may not be on the cusp of one of those times now.   

Ezra Klein interviews Sam Altman, C.E.O. of OpenAI, one of the most important players in the artificial intelligence space. In his essay “Moore’s Law for Everything.” Altman writes “This revolution will generate enough wealth for everyone to have what they need, if we as a society manage it responsibly.”

Altman also admits, if he is right then A.I. will generate phenomenal wealth largely by destroying countless jobs — that’s a big part of how everything gets cheaper — and shifting huge amounts of wealth from labor to capital. 

Whether that world becomes a post-scarcity utopia or a feudal dystopia hinges on how wealth, power and dignity are then distributed — it hinges, in other words, on politics.