AI central planning revisited: markets still produce demand signals models can't replace
NathanpmYoung · x · 2026-11-08
jonathanstray revisits whether AI finally enables effective central planning, framing it as a rehash of the century-old Socialist Calculation Debate. His take: while the actual "calculations" are now tractable, markets produce essential information that seems hard to obtain otherwise — especially accurate demand signals. Without people actually trading for what they want, they have an incentive to exaggerate and claim their needs are extremely important. He links to the History of Economic Thought's essay on the debate, which was formalized since Barone's 1908 paper.
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