AI vs. the railroads

Source: Noahpinion
by Noah Smith

“A year and a half ago, the AI boom was still significantly smaller than the railroad boom of the late 1800s, as a percent of GDP. Now, there’s an active argument as to which one is bigger. This debate doesn’t really matter, because the basic message is just ‘Wow, it’s a lot of money.’ But it’s fun to look at the numbers people are throwing around.” (10/15/26)

https://www.noahpinion.blog/p/ai-vs-the-railroads