Three things in AI to watch, according to a Nobel-winning economist

AI productivity impact

Acemoglu's cautious view that AI gives only a small boost to US productivity has not caught on in Silicon Valley, but the data is still largely on his side two years later.

Stewart Brand's maintenance philosophy

Brand's vision of maintenance often feels solitary—more about personal fulfillment than tending to a shared world or making it better, limiting the broader social vision of the argument.

Maintenance as Radical Act

Stewart Brand argues that maintaining existing systems—motorcycles, monuments, or the planet—is a civilizational act more radical than building new things, challenging tech culture's obsession with creation over upkeep.

Directly challenges Silicon Valley's zero-to-one, build-new ethos by framing maintenance and stewardship as the more impactful and undervalued activity.