🟪 Friday charts

Q: Ada Palmer argues that throughout history, people consistently worry about the wrong things while mi

Ada Palmer argues that throughout history, people consistently worry about the wrong things while missing truly transformational changes like the printing press or discovery of the Americas.

Q: Data shows 26% of top earners fear job loss while ChatGPT has only suppressed coder employment growt

Data shows 26% of top earners fear job loss while ChatGPT has only suppressed coder employment growth by 3% annually, yet software developer jobs have grown by 400,000 since 2022.

Q: Meta employees burned 60 trillion tokens in 30 days while Ramp customers increased LLM spending 13x

Meta employees burned 60 trillion tokens in 30 days while Ramp customers increased LLM spending 13x this year, signaling massive AI adoption acceleration.

The Breakdown·Friday, April 10, 2026·6 min read

Business AI/ML Technology

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AI Summary

Newsletter explores historian Ada Palmer's thesis that people consistently worry about the wrong things throughout history, using examples from Columbus's discovery of the Americas to current AI fears. Charts show data on job security concerns among high earners, middle class mobility, AI's impact on software jobs, and declining US fertility rates.

Key Facts

✓Ada Palmer argues that throughout history, people consistently worry about the wrong things while missing truly transformational changes like the printing press or discovery of the Americas.

✓Data shows 26% of top earners fear job loss while ChatGPT has only suppressed coder employment growth by 3% annually, yet software developer jobs have grown by 400,000 since 2022.

✓Meta employees burned 60 trillion tokens in 30 days while Ramp customers increased LLM spending 13x this year, signaling massive AI adoption acceleration.

Author Takes

SkepticalThe Breakdown

Historical worry patterns

If we can't worry about the right thing, why worry at all? Let's check the charts instead

SkepticalThe Breakdown

AI apocalypse fears

We're not living through an apocalypse, we're living through an information revolution like generations before

Contrarian Angle

Stop Worrying About the Wrong Things

Ada Palmer's historical analysis suggests we should stop worrying altogether since humans are consistently wrong about which changes matter

Anti-conventional wisdom approach of accepting we can't predict what to worry about

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