Economist Peter Schiff has pushed back against Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (I-VT) calls for a moratorium on new AI data centers, calling it an attack on productivity, progress and growth.
Employment Is ‘Not The Goal’
On Thursday, in a post on X, Schiff said that Sanders’ opposition to AI is rooted in concerns that the rich “might get richer,” as opposed to broader economic welfare.
“Apparently, the real tragedy isn’t poverty or scarcity, but the possibility that someone might profit while making everyone else’s life easier,” he said.
Schiff said that productivity gains from AI would ultimately benefit consumers, not just corporations or wealthy investors. “If AI raises profits by raising productivity, producing more and better goods at lower prices, then consumers are the real winners,” he said, adding that lower prices reduce the amount of labor required to maintain living standards.
He dismissed the idea of job preservation being the end in itself, amid the growing AI-led job losses narrative, saying, “Jobs are not the goal. They’re the cost,” which primarily exist to produce goods and services, not as a moral objective.
According to Schiff, technological progress that reduces labor requirements should be viewed as an advancement rather than exploitation. “When technology eliminates one job, it frees up labor to do something else.”
Elon Musk Slams Sanders’ Calls For A Moratorium
Earlier this week, Sanders had called a halt to new data center construction, warning that their rapid expansion was threatening jobs, democracy and public resources.
“AI and Robotics are the most transformative technologies in the history of humanity,” Sanders said, adding that they will have an impact on “every man, woman and child” in the country.
Billionaire entrepreneur and Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) CEO, Elon Musk, slammed Sanders’ views, saying, “The takers like Bernie will eventually follow the makers, but they’re cowards too and lack any sense of adventure, so they will wait until it is safe.”
Photo Courtesy: Gorodenkoff on Shutterstock.com
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