Written by Bryan Lutz, Editor at Dollarcollapse.com:
Every Sunday morning I sit down to write a few thoughts.
Sometimes these thoughts end up being about life, other times they are on gold, geopolitical issues affecting the markets, or the economy.
Here are three thoughts for this morning:
1. Happy Thanksgiving! It is a miracle how we all get fed each day.
Once struck with wonder over how Paris was Fed each morning, Frederick Bastiat mused:
“It staggers the imagination to comprehend the vast multiplicity of objects that must pass through its gates tomorrow… And yet all are sleeping peacefully at this moment.”
If you’re living in the United States, Happy Thanksgiving to you.
It is a miracle as to how around 400 Million people celebrating Thanksgiving get fed this weekend.
Yep, it’s a miracle. There’s also a name for it:
Spontaneous Order.
But, everyone has their idea.
Keynesian economists want to master the miracle through calculating and balancing supply and demand in every aspect of our life.
Technocrats too. They promise to accomplish total management of everyday life through AI, even promising to eliminate poverty.
(See my blog this week on UBI).
However, like every utopian vision it is impossible to accomplish. That’s because even when the Keynesian bureaucrats, and entrepreneurial technocrats get close, Spontaneous Order will always disrupt their plans.
All it takes is one random actor (or event) in a market to disrupt the whole thing.
Or, you can let free markets be free. Accept that there will always be disruption, and then move on to making a contribution.
I am sure that at the turn of the agrarian age humans looked at their fields, and then at their full tables, and then back at their fields and said…
“Wow, look at all this abundance. It’s a miracle.”
There is enough, even today, to go around if we leave people alone.
2. Futurist Ray Kurzweil was frighteningly right about many things. AI is driving us deeper into questions about what it means to be human. Humanity’s spirituality is already become the false dichotomy for new kinds of fanaticism. A fanaticism that in some way may in some way spark a new kind of cultural renewal.
Here’s a thought that probably deserves a whole blog post…
Futurist Ray Kurzweil, author of ‘The Singularity is Near,’ once wrote:
“The year is 2029, the machines will convince us that they are human. They’ll embody human qualities and we’ll believe them.”
We are not far off. You’re about to see why…
This week, it was revealed that Solomon Ray, a Christian artist who achieved #1 song and #1 album on the iTunes Christian Music chart. FYI, he’s an AI production.
Christian artists everywhere have been lamenting.
They’re calling it soulless – without the “Holy Spirit.”
You can find Solomon Ray’s reaction here.
Here’s what the reaction was all about. Ray’s producer retorted by creating a short song about Luke 19:40, which reads Jesus’ words:
“I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”
Even the scriptural writing seems to agree that the divide between sacred and secular, man and creation, the dirt and our bones is of little difference.
But those lacking stable ground in the time of our multi-crisis will want find something belief to fill the existential void.
Which is why humanity’s spirituality is already becoming, the dividing line, the dichotomy we willingly want to agree with… It is the difference between man and machine. It will also give birth to new versions of fanaticism, as you can see by the lament of various Christian artists.
They would rather choose radical fanaticism over the application of their faith. But, this is the way of cultural renewal in the West, maybe for longer than the “West” has existed.
At the end of Eric Hoffer’s book, ‘The True Believer’, Hoffer writes,
“J.B.S. Haldane counts fanaticism among the only four really important investion made between 3000 B.C. and 1400 A.D.
It was a Judaic-Christian invention.
And it is strange to think that in receiving this malady of the soul the world also received a miraculous instrument for raising societies and nations from the dead – an instrument of resurrection.”
In the book, Hoffer shows how fanaticism resolves. Using various historical and philosophical examples, he shows that in every revolution, even during a Fourth Turning, there are fanatics, but then come the men of action. They are implementors, followed by the managers. Those who maintain the status quo once again.
So, AI may be driving us toward questioning humanity once more, but in the future, I believe we will find rest for our souls beyond the dividing line of man vs. machine.
Here’s a song by Solomon Ray to help you on your way…
3. Despite what some people are saying about Google stock price valuations, I think it’s one tech stock to pay attention to. Here’s why.
Even though Google is developing some fairly interesting AI solutions all round, the company isn’t a stable long-term investment because of AI.
Yes, I think there’s a bubble in AI.
And yes, I see that Google’s stock price has more than doubled over the past year. Yesterday, I saw a very well-known podcast host and commentator asking if Google’s stock price was justified.
Here’s what their stock looks like right now.
In about 12 months, the stock has gone from $140 to $320 per share.
Google is a significantly different company than OpenAI.
OpenAI is a company developing a product WITHOUT knowing who their developing for, or for what application. Essentially, they are trying to make a tool without a problem to solve(we all know what this means… ie. see ‘The Creature from Jekyll Island’), which is why it was originally structured as a non-profit. It’s basically a fishing boat without a big net trying to catch every fish in the sea.
This is where other companies with real operations have a significant advantage. Google is already adding AI to the top of their Search Engine Response Page(SERP). And sometimes, I’ll use it. Just to see a summary, or to evaluate their sources. AI makes search easier and faster for little bits of information I’d rather not spend a lot of time looking for.
So, there’s that.
The other massive potential for a growing, repeating revenue stream has been Waymo.
Google is the parent company of Waymo, the 800-pound gorilla in the driverless taxi industry.
According to Axios, Waymo “…provides more than 200,000 rides per week in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Phoenix. In 2024, it racked up more than 4 million paid passenger trips.”
That is sustainable revenue, even without the inclusion of AI…
Plus, the whole “self-driving taxi” industry is growing with Google leading the way. (See the latest map from Axios, below.)
You might be wondering if Google is new to the game, actually I think the company has been working on autonomous vehicles for around than 15 years.
This video is more than 11 years old –v
Today, those beta tests have matured into a revenue generating machine, which have become a novelty to new passengers (tourists) around the world.
You can actually book a car for a whole day, tour the city, and not have to worry about hailing another ride.
Anyway, there may be an AI bubble, but Google’s future is far from getting beat up competitors asking for “investors,” and government funding (see Sam “I’m asking for a lot” man).
One thought on "3 Sunday Morning Thoughts – November 30 Edition"
Concerning Solomon Ray, a Christian artist who achieved #1 song and #1 album. Christian music has been undermined for a long time by people who only want money, so this next thing is not surprising. It is another indication that we are living in the last days. What is happening with tech is amazing so Waymo is another sign we may not have long before the return of Jesus Christ. You did not address it in your article, but designer babies (even if not legal) are now a reality as well with artificial wombs available for those women concerned about their “figure” and of course abortion kills millions of people every year. There are many more examples I could give but this should suffice. The 24th chapter of Mathew and Daniel 12:4 gives you an indication of what the world will be like in the last days. Dan 12:4 But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased. We are now understanding what he meant by “knowledge increased, and people running to and fro”. Get right with God. It is later than you think.