FULL INTERVIEW: The Economist's Callum Williams says only about 25% of American businesses use AI four years in, when most people in 2023 would have bet on nearly all of them. Ask CFOs what AI has done for their bottom line, and he says it "basically balances to zero."
@econcallum is the senior economics writer at
@TheEconomist. He joined
@theojaffee and
@schisofrenia to lay out why AI hasn't changed the economy yet and the signal he's watching for:
00:50 why AI hasn't changed the economy yet
01:38 why AI spread slower than the internet in business
03:05 why a laptop and ChatGPT isn't enough
04:20 the CFO surveys where AI's impact balances to zero
04:49 why cost will decide how fast AI spreads
06:11 the 25% stat, and the labor market signal he's watching
08:30 whether AI layoffs are real or just an excuse
09:43 robot McDonald's vs a fast food labor shortage
10:28 the COVID robot predictions nobody apologized for
11:55 the economic doom predictions that did come true