52: How will AI impact the economy?

About this episode

The episode discusses the economic implications of AI as a new kind of factory and its potential effects on various sectors and labor dynamics.

Let's move past the tired “Is AI a bubble?” debate and ask the bigger question: What happens after the buildout—when trillions of dollars of AI data centers translate into real economic output. Co-hosts Ben Miller and Cardiff Garcia frame AI as a new kind of factory—massive capex producing tokens that can be converted into real white-collar work. Then Ben grounds it with concrete Fundrise examples—AI handling a large share of customer support, strengthening cybersecurity workflows, reshaping marketing/copywriting, and boosting engineering productivity—before zooming out to the macro implications: faster growth, disinflationary pressure, shifting labor vs. capital dynamics, and the possibility of lower rates if productivity wins out. They also wrestle with the messy part—how adoption, politics, and policy could determine whether AI becomes a broad-based win, a lopsided win-lose, or a stagnation-inducing backlash—and close on practical ideas for adaptation, especially for younger workers. — For a deeper dive into these insights and more, be sure to listen to the full episode of the Onward podcast. Have questions or feedback about this episode? Drop us a note at Onward@Fundrise.com…

People in this episode

Hosts: Ben Miller, Cardiff Garcia

Topics covered

• AI impact
• economy
• customer support
• cybersecurity
• marketing
• productivity
• labor dynamics

Keywords

• AI
• economy
• customer support
• cybersecurity
• marketing
• productivity
• labor dynamics
• disinflation
• growth

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Fundrise, The Podcast Consultant, Seaplane Armada

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