> Could it also be that the models are just a lot better than a year ago?

No, the proof is in the pudding.

After AI we're having higher prices, higher deficits and lower standard of living. Electricity, computers and everything else costs more. "Doing better" can only be justified by that real benchmark.

If Gemini 3 DT was better we would have falling prices of electricity and everything else at least until they get to pre-2019 levels.

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ctoth 4 hours ago | parent | next [-]

> If Gemini 3 DT was better we would have falling prices of electricity and everything else at least

Man, I've seen some maintenance folks down on the field before working on them goalposts but I'm pretty sure this is the first time I saw aliens from another Universe literally teleport in, grab the goalposts, and teleport out.

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WarmWash 4 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

You might call me crazy, but at least in 2024, consumers spent ~1% less of their income on expenses than 2019[2], which suggests that 2024 is more affordable than 2019.

This is from the BLS consumer survey report released in dec[1]

[1]https://www.bls.gov/news.release/cesan.nr0.htm

[2]https://www.bls.gov/opub/reports/consumer-expenditures/2019/

Prices are never going back to 2019 numbers though

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gowld 3 hours ago | parent [-]

That's an improper analysis.

First off, it's dollar-averaging every category, so it's not "% of income", which varies based on unit income.

Second, I could commit to spending my entire life with constant spending (optionally inflation adjusted, optionally as a % of income), by adusting quality of goods and service I purchase. So the total spending % is not a measure of affordability.

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WarmWash 3 hours ago | parent [-]

Almost everyone lifestyle ratchets, so the handful that actually downgrade their living rather than increase spending would be tiny.

This part of a wider trend too, where economic stats don't align with what people are saying. Which is most likley explained by the economic anomaly of the pandemic skewing peoples perceptions.

	▲	twoodfin an hour ago \| parent [-]
		We have centuries of historical evidence that people really, really don’t like high inflation, and it takes a while & a lot of turmoil for those shocks to work their way through society.