Charles Hugh Smith – While AI (artificial intelligence) garners the headlines, the next wave of disruptive technologies extend far beyond AI: as the chart of technologies rapidly being adopted shows, this wave includes new materials and processes as well as the “usual suspects” of machine learning, natural language processing, data mining and so on.
While many voices seek to assure us these technologies won’t displace human workers, the reality is cutting labor inputs is the core driver. What few pundits seem to understand (perhaps because they’ve never experienced a truly competitive market?) is that the rush to incorporate these technologies into existing enterprises is deflationary not just to prices but to profits.
Reducing labor inputs and improving productivity of capital and the remaining labor force is not going to generate profits if competitors can access the same tools and processes. The race isn’t to maximize profits, it’s to survive the inevitable deflationary spiral in prices as competitors are forced to pass along cost savings to customers to retain market share. Continue reading