[btreecat]

>Energy

Requires technology

>manufacturing

Increasingly dependent on technology for the most basic of operations, such as managing inventory or customer orders.

>transportation

Automated driving, mandated auto breaking, hired drivers, bus schedules...

>healthcare

DHR, wireless pace makers, direct to pharmacy prescriptions

>agriculture

Indoor farms, pink LED's, automated nutrient systems

So I think it's quite the understatement

>Of course tech can play a role

Tech already plays a vital role and with out it we would not have the global economy and productivity levels that we currently enjoy.

[bhauer]

I'm in the tech industry, so I am sympathetic to your view, but you must realize this argument is silly. Energy requires technology? Yes. Technology also requires energy to power... well, everything. Manufacturing requires technology? Yes. Technology also requires manufacturing to build our phones, tablets, computers, Teslas, etc.

You can see where I'm going here. The economy is a network. No single node is the focal point around which everything else orbits.

[sillypog]

"People" might be the central node.

[smpetrey]

Yep.

This right here. So what happens when AI becomes is in the focal length of simple adoption? AI isn't even affecting .0000000005% of the economy yet. But when it comes, it going to unleash of fury of change never before seen.

To go full circle, there's a reason that the "tech industry" carries a big weight. It's because the Information Age is coming to a close, and who knows what's next.

[bhauer]

Good point.

"The economy is us. We don't need a mechanic. Put away the wrenches—the economy's organic."

https://youtu.be/GTQnarzmTOc?t=5m4s

[madengr]

The original poster implies software, and software (the main product of SV) is in a bubble which will burst.

[talmand]

Well, I would say all those things have required technology of some sort or another since they all started. So saying they require technology is nothing new. Now saying they all require software technology of a specific sort from silicon valley is completely different. For example, if a bubble did exist and it burst so that all those software technologies from silicon valley disappeared, would those sectors of the economy suddenly disappear as well? I think not. You are elevating software technology to all technology.