The 20th-century manufacturing shift as precedent for AI-era labor reallocation
binarybits · x · 2026-09-20
Timothy Lee offers a historical analogy in the AGI economics thread: in the 20th century, as manufacturing grew more efficient, manufacturing's employment share fell while services rose. Combined with his earlier point that spending freed by automation will shift toward human-interaction and inherently scarce categories (child care, counseling, land, concerts, art), this suggests the AI era may bring structural reallocation rather than infinite economic explosion.
Related event: Debating AI-Driven Industrial Explosion: Greenblatt vs. Timothy Lee(19 posts)→
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