How “real” is a customized reality?

In a market economy, competition plays a crucial role. The capacity of both producers and consumers to outbid one another in selling and securing products allows for the optimal allocation of resources according to relative demand and supply. Continue Reading...

Rising to the challenges of ‘so-so automation’

Fears about job loss and human obsolescence continue to consume the cultural imagination, compounded by ongoing strides in artificial intelligence and machine learning. The job-killing robots are almost at the door, we are told, mere moments away from replacing the last traces of human inefficiency and heralding the dawn of a world without work. Continue Reading...

Jordan Peterson on the universal basic income

As we enter a new age of automation and artificial intelligence, fears about job loss and human obsolescence are troubling the cultural imagination. Prosperity abounds, but innovators like Elon Musk and Bill Gates continue to predict a future where humans steadily diminish in their contributions, becoming ever more dependent on external sources of provision. Continue Reading...

We should not fear automation

The Cato Institute recently released a fascinating study explaining why fears about job losses via automation may be exaggerated. Many people today fear that our technological innovations, particularly automation, will result in permanent job losses. Continue Reading...

Creativity will kill COVID-19

It is in the most desperate of times that we must not forget our principles. Globally, we are facing desperate times. In the United States, unemployment rolls doubled in just one week, climbing to 6.6 million unemployment claims for the week ending March 28, 2020. Continue Reading...

The perfect lap

In this week’s Acton Commentary, I take a look at Ford v Ferrari, the new feature film that captures the story (it’s a true thrill ride) animating the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans. Continue Reading...