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The (real) dead economy theory

79 points by hn_acker

by thelastgallon

0 subcomment

There was a recent discussion:
The Dead Economy Theory: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48324712
"The underlying purpose of AI is to allow wealth to access skill while removing from the skilled the ability to access wealth". (comment on the discussion above: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48334069)

by rokob

6 subcomments

> something is valuable because some people think other people will pay more for it in the future, and not because it does useful things
This has been the definition of finance for hundreds of years. I don't know why it comes across here like this is a new phenomenon.

by RetroTechie

0 subcomment

What's dead is mainstream economic science's assumptions about free & fair markets, with well-informed agents that act rationally. We all know that's bs. As I've heard an economist phrase it:
One can study economics for 1000s of hours. Not spend a single hour on psychology, or economic history. And then obtain a bachelors (or even masters) degree in economics.
This, while it's crystal clear that markets aren't always fair. Playfields tilted. Buyers & sellers ill-informed, or not free in their decisions. Small investors can't touch instruments in institutional investors' toolbox. Historic mistakes are made again & again.
And psychological effects matter. Markets have a 'sentiment' (bull vs bear), investors fomo driving buy/sell frenzies, etc.
So is it any surprise that valuations are irrational? Let's face it: stock markets are a casino, filled with gullible fools & deep-pocketed crazies. Oh yes, some sane ones in there too.

by jdw64

0 subcomment

'Dead' economy theory, you say? I guess the economy must have been alive at some point, then. In my short life, though, I don't think it ever was....

by neko_ranger

0 subcomment

by civilian

10 subcomments

> That's the logic of the whole market today. AI – the world's money-losingest technology – attracts investment at the expense of everything else.
I expect Cory to have skepticism about technology that can be exploited for dystopian purposes, but calling AI "the world's money-losingest technology" is out of touch. If AI can support/replace some intellectual work, it'll be revolutionary, and that's what the investment bet is about.
I get that the blog post is making a separate point about Musk's companies but it's dissapointing to see mistakes like this in Cory's thinking

by debo_

1 subcomments

Whenever I read Cory Doctorow, I feel like someone took the complement of Paul Graham's writing and posted it. I personally find both of them vapid and annoying.
Edit: the article that the author is commenting on is IMO much better than the linked commentary. There's not much to it
https://crookedtimber.org/2026/06/15/one-big-grift/

by draw_down

0 subcomment

by rayiner

0 subcomment

by lionheart

5 subcomments

I just don't get it. How do you go from writing the kinds of future visions he has to staring at the singularity practically hitting you in the face and calling it "the world's money-losingest technology"?
Is it because he isn't actually using the technology for work on a day-to-day basis like a lot of us?