Notes on the economics of AI

I have been reading and thinking about the economics of AI. Here some articles that I have read or not.

links and notes

1. A skeptical look at AI investment a podcast at Goldman Sachs Exchange which they categorise as a discussion/comment stream. I have not yet listened to it. It’s dated July 24, so an early adopter of the cynic line.
2. https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/mar/22/reid-hoffman-superagency-start-using-ai-deeply-it-is-a-huge-intelligence-amplifier
3. https://www.lse.ac.uk/News/Latest-news-from-LSE/2024/l-December-2024/LinkedIn-co-founder-Reid-Hoffman-discusses-AIs-transformative-potential-at-LSE
4. https://techhq.com/2025/02/deepseeks-open-source-revolution-a-game-changer-for-ai-development/ on supplyside economics of AI
5. The UK AI Opportunities plan on gov.uk
6. The AI Bubble Is About To Burst, But The Next Bubble Is Already Growing by Will Lockett on Medium, a detailed economic critique of the AI industry. The article is well highlighted on issues such as developer productivity and ROI, both of which it would seem are negative. The author suggests that the money is moving into the dead end street of Quantum computing.
7. But it doesn’t work, The math and logic behind chatgpt, this paper is all you need by Joshua Anang on medium
8. Why treat the CEO as a superman? by me on this wiki
9. Whose jobs does AI want? by me, on LinkedIn
10. About the Fragment-on-machines by me on this wiki

And specifically on Energy

1. https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/electric-power-and-natural-gas/our-insights/the-role-of-power-in-unlocking-the-european-ai-revolution
2. https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/private-capital/our-insights/how-data-centers-and-the-energy-sector-can-sate-ais-hunger-for-power

Boom or Bubble

1. https://medium.com/@wlockett/ai-just-had-its-big-short-moment-714e143dabfa
2. https://graceblakeley.substack.com/p/the-ai-circular-economy
3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4enOW-PVRA The UK’s Misguided Embrace of AI Hype w/ James Meadway, by Paris Marx, this is 45 minutes long.

I was pointed at these by Karen Hao in her interview on Novara Media. She mentions water as another critical resource.

The General Intellect

In December, I came across some further articles on the value of AI and rents to be paid for training material, several of these are written by Enrique Dans, here on bluesky or on Medium

1. The-race-for-ai-sovereignty-infrastructure-identity-and-independence by Dans, he concludes, “AI sovereignty is neither a technological whim nor an exercise in national pride: it is a reminder that if you don’t control the models that speak for you, you don’t control the future you will have to live in.” Much of his emphasis is on language and culture, just as mine is on accuracy within a regulatory context.
2. AI is not theft the UK just got it right, by Dans on Medium, importantly Dans states that, “Let’s be clear: training is not copying. Copyright protects two specific acts — reproduction and distribution. An AI model does neither.” He congratulates Parliament in not defining training as copying.
3. SAAS is being eaten alive. New data shows how AI agents are killing the subscription model suggesting that SAAS systems are vulnerable to competition from AI bots and massively improved programming productivity. By Rohit Thakur
4. I thought AI output was free to use I-was-wrong, on Medium, an essay on the state of law on using AI images by onchain journals.

See also https://davelevy.info/wiki/uk-us-technology-partnership/ on this wiki, where I note specifically about the UK/US technology deal.