How AI Could Undermine an Efficient Market Economy – The Markup

Third, key advances in knowledge have always been placed in the public domain. Knowledge is what economists call a public good. Thomas Jefferson put it well when he said that knowledge is like a candle: When one candle lights another, it doesn't diminish the first. That's why basic research has to be funded publicly, and knowledge should be disseminated as widely as possible. While that was true for the basic research underlying AI, an increasing fraction of critical AI research is being done within private organizations, without the full knowledge-sharing that was so important, for instance, in the development of the mRNA vaccines.