What's Your Problem? From Here We Go Again With Kal Penn: Will Technology Replace Us? with Jacob Goldstein
11 snips
Mar 26, 2026 
Jacob Goldstein, journalist and Planet Money alum who studies economic history. He traces the original Luddites and early machine-breaking. He compares Industrial Revolution fears to today’s AI anxieties. He discusses which workers are most at risk, how policy can respond, and whether new kinds of jobs might emerge.
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Use AI To Generate Leads Then Vet Them
- Use AI as a research assistant, not a finished product, by prompting for themes then independently verifying and researching suggested ideas.
- Goldstein describes feeding a script to a model, extracting thematic leads, and then fact-checking sources before using them.
Original Luddites Smashed Machines And Were Hanged
- Jacob Goldstein recounts the original Luddites: skilled cloth workers who smashed new textile machines in 1811–12 to resist losing livelihoods.
- They invented a mythical leader, General Ned Ludd, organized night raids, and faced government repression including death sentences and public hangings.
Political Power Shapes Who Survives Technological Change
- Goldstein notes a key difference today: ordinary workers have more political power than Luddites did, with unions and voting rights existing now.
- That political power shapes whether displaced workers get protection or relief when technology erodes jobs.
