Innovators keep only 2.2% of value they create — economist's case for socializing AGI gains
Dr_Atoosa · x · 2026-11-01
Nordhaus studied how much of the value created by innovation stays with the innovator, crunching numbers for non-farm US companies between 1948 and 2001: about 2.2%. The remaining 98% went to society, especially consumers, via lower prices and better products. The poster cites this empirical result as support for the argument, co-authored with Iason Gabriel, that the benefits of advanced technology including general-purpose AI should belong to society. Links to the full paper and an essay are included.
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