What if AI is retarding rather than adding to economic growth? From Mark Keenan at lewrockwell.com:
Artificial intelligence is being sold as the technology that will “change everything.” Yet while a handful of firms are profiting enormously from the AI boom, the financial risk may already be shifting to the public.
The louder the promises become, the quieter another possibility seems to be:
What if AI is not accelerating the economy at all — but disguising the fact that it is slowing down?
For months, the headlines have declared that AI is transforming medicine, education, logistics, finance, and culture. Yet when I speak with people in ordinary jobs, a different reality emerges: wages feel sluggish, job openings are tightening, and the loudest optimism often seems to come from sectors most invested in the AI narrative.
This raises an uncomfortable question:
Has AI become a true growth engine — or a financial life-support system?
The Mirage of Growth
Recent economic data suggests that a significant portion of U.S. GDP growth is being driven not by broad productivity, but by AI-related infrastructure spending — especially data centers.
What product does it make other than five boobed photochops and the Control Grid Matrix?