The Bitcoin Standard Podcast 316. Principles of Economics Lecture 7: Technology
Mar 10, 2026
A lecture about technology as non-material capital that raises productivity and fuels long-term growth. It explores why innovation creates new kinds of work instead of eliminating jobs. Historical examples like steam engines and aviation illustrate how tinkering and entrepreneurship drive breakthroughs. Topics include software as informational capital, population effects on innovation, and resistance to new tech.
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Technology As Nonphysical Capital
- Technology is non-physical capital that increases productivity and is the "plan" inside the acting person's mind.
- Saifedean Ammous compares it to a recipe: ideas enable production without being a material part of the output.
New Technology Avoids Diminishing Returns
- Physical capital faces diminishing returns unless paired with technological improvements that find new productive uses for capital.
- Ammous uses fishing rods versus fishing boats/nets to show new tech renews capital's productivity.
Focus On Jobs' Purpose Not Mechanics
- Do not assume technology destroys employment; it raises labor productivity and creates new, more valuable jobs.
- Ammous argues machines make human time more productive, increasing wages and demand for versatile workers.
