If AI concentrates economic activity and leads to more natural monopolies (extremely likely), yeah, the lower level activity becomes more efficient but the macro economy becomes less efficient due to lower competition.

Software has basically done the same thing, where we do things faster and the fastest thing that happens is accumulation of power and a lower overall quality of life for everyone due to that.

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brookst 3 days ago | parent | next [-]

How does enabling every person on earth to create Hollywood-quality films (for better or worse) result in more natural monopolies?

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refactor_master 2 days ago | parent | next [-]

The Internet for example is thought to be “democratizing” for society, but in reality some argue we’re now living under a system of “technofeudalism” [1] which is anything but. E.g. just a handful of Internet-enabled companies essentially rule the world. You can sit down and code an Amazon clone with or without AI, and both of them will be highly unlikely to topple the existing monopolies.

[1] https://thebeautifultruth.org/the-basics/what-is-technofeuda...

	▲	chii 2 days ago \| parent [-]
		the feudalism model required that it be enforced with violence. As a peasant, you are not allowed by your feudal lord to move (migrate) away. This is not so for internet. You can _choose_ not to shop at amazon, search with google, or watch videos on youtube.

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oblio 2 days ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Once supply becomes huge, nothing stands out unless it's extraordinary or most likely, well promoted.

Things start becoming found through aggregators. Google, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok.

Do those names ring any bells?

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yen223 2 days ago | parent | prev [-]

Imagine if only Google has the AI and processing power capable enough to generate Hollywood-quality movies.

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andrepd 3 days ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Yeah, indeed. People on this website tend to look at the immediate effects only, but what about the second order, macro effects? It's even more glaring because we've seen this play out already with social media and other tech "innovations" over the past two decades.

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pixl97 3 days ago | parent | prev [-]

I mean, since we're in tech here we like pointing out that software has done this....

But transportation technology has done this readily since the since ICE engines became wide spread. Pretty much all cities and towns and to make their 'own things' since the speed of transpiration was slow (sailing ships, horses, walking) and the cost of transportation was high. Then trains came along and things got a bit faster and more regular. Then trucks came along and things got a bit faster and more regular. Then paved roads just about everywhere you needed came along and things got faster and more regular. Now you could ship something across the country and it wouldn't cost a bankrupting amount of money.

The end result of technology does point that you could have one factory somewhere with all the materials it needs and it could make anything and ship it anywhere. This is why a bit of science fiction talks about things like UBI and post-scarcity (at least post scarcity of basic needs). After some amount of technical progress the current method of work just starts breaking down because human labor becomes much less needed.