Pessimists Archive(@PessimistsArc):A Nobel winning economist warned that fear of automation causing mass unemployment could itself cause mass unemployment by tanking consumer sentiment. He notes this may be a significant long ignored contributing factor in Great Depression. History of pessimism largely unwritten!

2026.10.01 14:52

A Nobel winning economist warned that fear of automation causing mass unemployment could itself cause mass unemployment by tanking consumer sentiment. He notes this may be a significant long ignored contributing factor in Great Depression. History of pessimism largely unwritten!

Steven Pinker@sapinker

2026.06.22 11:35

"We Have to Stop Freaking Out About A.I." warns Nobel laureate Robert Shiller. Depressions, formerly called panics, are caused by self-fulfilling fears (the only thing we have to fear is fear itself), i.e., common knowledge about those very fears.