Sat, 11 Oct 2025 12:35:46 +1100
Andrew Pam <xanni [at] glasswings.com.au>
<https://theconversation.com/todays-ai-hype-has-echoes-of-a-devastating-technology-boom-and-bust-100-years-ago-265492>
"The electrification boom of the 1920s set the United States up for a century
of industrial dominance and powered a global economic revolution.
But before electricity faded from a red-hot tech sector into invisible
infrastructure, the world went through profound social change, a speculative
bubble, a stock market crash, mass unemployment and a decade of global turmoil.
Understanding this history matters now. Artificial intelligence (AI) is a
similar general purpose technology and looks set to reshape every aspect of the
economy. But it’s already showing some of the hallmarks of electricity’s rise,
peak and bust in the decade known as the Roaring Twenties.
The reckoning that followed could be about to repeat."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
"The electrification boom of the 1920s set the United States up for a century
of industrial dominance and powered a global economic revolution.
But before electricity faded from a red-hot tech sector into invisible
infrastructure, the world went through profound social change, a speculative
bubble, a stock market crash, mass unemployment and a decade of global turmoil.
Understanding this history matters now. Artificial intelligence (AI) is a
similar general purpose technology and looks set to reshape every aspect of the
economy. But it’s already showing some of the hallmarks of electricity’s rise,
peak and bust in the decade known as the Roaring Twenties.
The reckoning that followed could be about to repeat."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
