Had the breakaway states achieved victory, it’s questionable if the nationwide hunt for industrial efficiency would have occurred.
Now that’s an interesting question. Automated farming equipment is ultimately much cheaper than use of slaves, but how much of an incentive does it take to make a nation invent or adopt a cheaper method? Very debatable whether “I’ll ultimately make K% more profit” is sufficient, or if “I’ll go bankrupt if I don’t find a solution right now” is needed.
Highly relevant in the context of AI. There are lots of jobs that an LLM can do well enough right now, given the right scaffolding, and a lot of money gets saved if that gets done, but it’s a laborious and very sensitive process to get from here to there.
Now that’s an interesting question. Automated farming equipment is ultimately much cheaper than use of slaves, but how much of an incentive does it take to make a nation invent or adopt a cheaper method? Very debatable whether “I’ll ultimately make K% more profit” is sufficient, or if “I’ll go bankrupt if I don’t find a solution right now” is needed.
Highly relevant in the context of AI. There are lots of jobs that an LLM can do well enough right now, given the right scaffolding, and a lot of money gets saved if that gets done, but it’s a laborious and very sensitive process to get from here to there.