AI boom risks widening wealth divide, says BlackRock's Larry Fink (theguardian.com)

by devonnull 49 comments 59 points
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49 comments

[−] jart 53d ago
Says the man who actually widens the wealth divide. One of the biggest global risks right now is Larry Fink being out of prison.
[−] TuringNYC 53d ago
Here is the letter if you want the primary source: https://www.blackrock.com/corporate/literature/presentation/...

And if you dont want to read, here is the hourlong audio: https://www.blackrock.com/corporate/investor-relations/larry...

Those looking for a deep explanation, this isnt as much about AI as it is about societal participation in prosperity.

[−] cal_dent 53d ago
Until housing is solved the wealth divide will continue to grow whether ai lives up to expectations or not. Higher wealth taxing funding UBI etc. will be largely ineffective without solving housing.

All this new fangled talk about ABUNDANCE yadda yadda I find quite silly. We already live in abundance, most jobs for instance already pay very livable wages for example. It's just not livable because of mainly housing (& more broadly renting & land prices)

[−] SilverElfin 53d ago
This is obvious and not an insight. The question is if people like the executives of Blackrock will agree to be taxed more heavily, to draw regulations to make competition more fair to small business, etc. Right now I don’t see anything useful happening.
[−] BrenBarn 53d ago
Very convenient how his solution is "bringing more people into the capital markets", also known as "more customers for my company".
[−] palmotea 53d ago
Well of course. The whole point of AI is devalue human intelligence (one of the last things someone can use to pull themselves up by their bootstraps) in favor of something a rich guy can buy more than you can imagine with money.
[−] forgetfreeman 53d ago
The majority of households in the US have no savings of any kind and rural suicide rates have jumped by nearly 50% in the last 25 years. Y'all have just about backed everyone into a corner already.
[−] LennyHenrysNuts 53d ago
Well, he'd know I guess.
[−] vintermann 53d ago
If I need money, and you have money, there are only two ways I can get money from you (ignoring charity):

1. By giving you something worth more than money to you.

2. By promising that giving money to me will make you richer, earning you more than you gave me. (A loan, a business investment, etc.)

The richer you are, the fewer things there in category 1 that I could plausibly deliver. I probably can't get away with lying to you in category 2 for long, so going that way may save me today, but it will make you richer.

Without redistribution of some sort, wealth concentrates, and wealth concentration probably even accelerates. No AI needed. That's just the interesting flavor it takes these days.

[−] _pdp_ 53d ago
I mean this is basically the foundation of any cyberpunk novel. You don't need to read that far ... just look at the works of Gibson, Neal Stephenson, Philip K. Dick and Richard Morgan.

From Neuromancer and Snow Crash to Altered Carbon the theme is that technology is not salvation but as another axis of inequality.

[−] fakedang 53d ago
Would be nice if Blackrock weren't outbidding first time homebuyers to purchase residential properties to rent out at inflated rates.
[−] canyp 53d ago
It's almost like they are about to rediscover taxes.
[−] mason_mpls 53d ago
doesnt larry fink need a bailout