AI, economics, economic history, the Industrial Revolution, automation, jobs, innovation, and the future of work are at the heart of the inaugural episode of History of the Future. Jonathan Hofer and Caleb Petitt explore what history can teach us about AI, looking at past technological revolutions—from the Industrial Revolution to the internet—to explain why today's AI boom may be more familiar than it seems.

They examine how technological change reshapes labor markets, why fears of job displacement often overlook the creation of new opportunities, and what the "Engels' pause" reveals about short-term disruption and long-term prosperity.

Jonathan and Caleb also discuss AI data centers, infrastructure, AI regulation, productivity, lower-skilled workers, and the economic forces shaping the future of artificial intelligence. It's a timely, historically grounded look at one of the most important technological and economic transformations of our time.

What You Will Learn:

• Why AI data centers prove the private sector can still build ambitious infrastructure when government gets out of the way
• How the Luddites weren't anti-technology purists but workers protecting livelihoods
• The "Engels' pause" framework
• Why low-skilled workers are actually best positioned to benefit from AI
• Why the jobs that disappear are visible while new job creation remains invisible
• The difference between regulating AI by computational power (Biden's approach) versus regulating by end-use cases (Trump's approach)

Jonathan Hofer is a Research Fellow at the Independent Institute, focusing on public policy, political science, privacy, and surveillance. With expertise spanning technology regulation, economic policy, and historical analysis, he brings a multidisciplinary lens to understanding how emerging technologies like AI reshape society.

Caleb Petitt is a Research Associate at the Independent Institute with a background in economic history. He specializes in analyzing how technological disruption reshapes labor markets and economic growth, drawing on historical parallels from the Industrial Revolution to contemporary technological shifts.

Episode Resources:

• Jonathan Hofer on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-hofer-a0b14219a
• Caleb Petitt on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/caleb-petitt-111126187
• Independent Institute URL for the podcast page: https://www.independent.org/podcast/history-of-the-future
• Independent Institute Website: https://www.independent.org

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• (00:03:48) - Air Conditioning During the World Cup
• (00:13:58) - What Is AI?
• (00:15:36) - Do we Need a Luddite Revolution?
• (00:22:23) - Karl Marx vs Hegel
• (00:29:32) - Are You Going to Lose Your Job to AI?
• (00:35:14) - Leah Palskavili's work on the gig economy
• (00:37:25) - Exogenous and endogenous growth models
• (00:40:35) - The History of Artificial Intelligence
• (00:42:15) - Disruptions in the Economy
• (00:46:20) - WSJD: Could AI Increase Inequality?
• (00:52:58) - Artificial Intelligence and the Future
• (00:54:26) - Favorite Movie That Employs AI
• (00:56:28) - Are There Any AIs In The Odyssey?
• (00:58:53) - History of the Future