#141 – Erik Brynjolfsson: Economics of AI, Social Networks, and Technology

Erik Brynjolfsson is an economist at Stanford. Please support this podcast by checking out our sponsors:
– Vincero: https://vincerowatches.com/lex to get up to 25% off + free shipping
– Four Sigmatic: https://foursigmatic.com/lex and use code LexPod to get up to 60% off
– ExpressVPN: https://expressvpn.com/lexpod and use code LexPod to get 3 months free
– Cash App: https://cash.app/ and use code LexPodcast to get $10

EPISODE LINKS:
Erik’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/erikbryn
Erik’s Website: https://www.brynjolfsson.com/
The Second Machine Age (book): https://amzn.to/33f1Pk2
Machine, Platform, Crowd (book): https://amzn.to/3miJZ76

PODCAST INFO:
Podcast website: https://lexfridman.com/podcast
Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2lwqZIr
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2nEwCF8
RSS: https://lexfridman.com/feed/podcast/
YouTube Full Episodes: https://youtube.com/lexfridman
YouTube Clips: https://youtube.com/lexclips

SUPPORT & CONNECT:
– Check out the sponsors above, it’s the best way to support this podcast
– Support on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/lexfridman
– Twitter: https://twitter.com/lexfridman
– Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lexfridman
– LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lexfridman
– Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LexFridmanPage
– Medium: https://medium.com/@lexfridman

OUTLINE:
Here’s the timestamps for the episode. On some podcast players you should be able to click the timestamp to jump to that time.
(00:00) – Introduction
(08:23) – Exponential growth
(12:51) – Elon Musk exponential thinking
(15:08) – Moore’s law is a series of revolutions
(20:31) – GPT-3
(22:09) – Autonomous vehicles
(29:11) – Electricity
(33:40) – Productivity
(38:47) – Why is Twitter and Facebook free?
(49:03) – Dismantling the nature of truth
(52:24) – Nutpicking and Cancel Culture
(58:39) – How will AI change our world
(1:04:40) – Existential threats
(1:06:33) – AI and the nature of work
(1:12:39) – Thoughts on Andrew Yang and UBI
(1:18:30) – Economics of innovation
(1:24:37) – Effect of COVID on the economy
(1:33:50) – MIT and Stanford
(1:38:23) – Book recommendations
(1:41:28) – Meaning of life