This piece turned out more frightening than I'd really intended. But sometimes you write your way through your thoughts and find they're more alarmed than you'd like. www.nytimes.com/2025/01/12/o... - ThreadSky

ezrakleinbot.bsky.social • 49 days ago

This piece turned out more frightening than I'd really intended. But sometimes you write your way through your thoughts and find they're more alarmed than you'd like.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/12/opinion/ai-climate-change-low-birth-rates.html?unlocked_article_code=1.o04.970N.vx2aBZPJh4yI&smid=url-share

Comments

mshasha-arts.bsky.social•48 days ago

The falling fertility rate is not a problem.

I’m old enough to remember the scary “population bomb” 40 years ago.

Tax the rich!
The failure to meet the needs of civilization, including a sustainable climate agenda, was a betrayal committed by the democracies.

dave11281947.bsky.social•49 days ago

If I understand Tooze, these plus the fact that we don't have a way to frame them, because the old ways of thinking no longer apply, make for the poly crisis.

brittpdx.bsky.social•48 days ago

It definitely frightened me, enough to share it with my siblings, which I rarely do. I’d rather have the truth and an informed opinion than sugarcoating.

biaggios.bsky.social•49 days ago

I was having a great day. Looking forward to reading this and having it crushed!

Actually looking forward to it.

dominikschweiz.bsky.social•48 days ago

This article is really very pessimistic. Your predictions have a high uncertainty, why believe in it?
AI uses a lot of energy for example. Will that stay like that? I am not sure. Look at the energy consumption of the human brain than you see what is possible if AI models get more energy efficient.

monewsdaily.bsky.social•46 days ago

swing and another miss
WHY did Musk/Theil buy Trump and with whom?
What is the biggest, unsolvable problem with USA?
What is the polycrisis?
Why is medical fertility failing?
What is our risk to adequate food? Financial bubble from insurance?
Ai...pfffft. Get real. Look at the actual issues.

grumpyoldscientist.bsky.social•43 days ago

I was worried you would have the same white guy take on declining fertility as the rest of them. But yours was more nuanced. Thank god. If you turn into Ross Douthat, I will have to give up on the NYT, just like the WPO.

local106.com•48 days ago

I have been describing the current era, starting roughly in the mid 70's, as the information revolution. Not in the way marketers do, but as a historic reference. Computer technology is a disruption on the order of industrialization but much faster. The chaos of industrial history, but much faster.

moothecow.bsky.social•49 days ago

Question for you that I’ve heard no one really discuss: what happens when supply and demand are flipped via AI? Do you think it will ever get to that point?

I think the bottom might fall out due to sneaky incremental replacement (by bots) before that happens.

charliesc00.bsky.social•48 days ago

Glad to see you peeking outside the “we’ll be fine” tent although you barely scratch the surface of the polycrisis (don’t mention planetary boundaries or limits to growth). All meaningful indicators are accelerating in the wrong direction. Your sober and trusted voice is very valuable; keep it up!

kooegrp.bsky.social•48 days ago

Been a fan of your writing for quite awhile now. This piece really nails it (but who really knows what 2.0 will bring) as well as examining the continuing evolution of AI, which echoes my own experiences; we’re getting closer and closer to AGI imho.

kooegrp.bsky.social•48 days ago

Should’ve added other than the shock, awe, stupid sh*t and distractions, all the while the rich just keep on getting richer.

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