In the economics profession, the AI-pessimist viewpoint is being aggressively championed by none other than Daron Acemoglu, probably the top economist in the world, and a recent recipient of the Econ Nobel. Acemoglu wrote a book (with Simon Johnson) ¹ about how the grand sweep of economic history shows that society can’t leave the creation of AI to the entrepreneurs and venture capitalists. But although he argues that AI will destroy jobs and cause a massive rise in inequality, Acemoglu also thinks that all that automation won’t do much to raise productivity. ²