Acemoglu's seven questions on AI meet Gans's replies, and economists say both dodge market failure
joshgans · x · 2026-10-15
Economist Daron Acemoglu posted seven daily "Questions on AI"; Joshua Gans replied to each and collected the full exchange in a Substack post. Commenter James Broughel notes both dodge the classic public-policy starting point: market failure. If markets work, most of Acemoglu's questions collapse into distributional issues; if not, the specific failure determines the policy remedy.
In the first question — superintelligence vs. distorted intelligence — Acemoglu argues the debate is muddied by equating goal-driven autonomy with intelligence (plants and insects have autonomy too). He fears labs are building distorted rather than super intelligence, a distinction that shapes regulation and risk. The full seven-question exchange is a substantive read on economists' AI policy divides.
More from AGI Musings
- AI 2027 Scenario, Once Dismissed as Sci-Fi, Gets a Reread for Being Eerily Accurate — imjustnewatai · 2026-10-15
- Two months on, the "ants in the kitchen" rogue AI agent warning looks prescient — DKokotajlo · 2026-10-15
- Google execs cite early signs of recursive self-improvement behind 3-4 week Gemini cadence — danielrock · 2026-10-15
- Peter Diamandis: AI's real risk is making people timid, not lazy — PeterDiamandis · 2026-10-15
- AI cost falling 54x faster than electricity ever did, five years in — LinusEkenstam · 2026-10-15
- Herbert Simon's 40-year-old advice on computers nails how to use AI today — msg · 2026-10-15