Person
Noah Smith
Noah Smith is an economics writer, formerly a Bloomberg Opinion columnist and an assistant professor of finance, whose Noahpinion newsletter is one of the most read economics blogs in the world. AI is a recurring thread in his optimist-empiricist economics: what the technology means for jobs, growth and the industrial contest with China.
Commentary by Noah Smith
From the commentary rail — every link leaves the site for the original piece.
- 5 October 2026 · NoahpinionWhat the AI boom is doing for AmericansIt’s not just “of, by and for oligarchs”.
- 14 September 2026 · NoahpinionTwo missing pieces in the AI safety discussionWe need to make skeptics properly scared. And we need to make CHINA properly scared.
- 7 September 2026 · NoahpinionAI keeps stubbornly refusing to take our jobsHappy Labor Day!! Your labor is still valuable.
- 28 August 2026 · NoahpinionHere’s how we’re all going to dieSpoiler: It’s vibe-coded superviruses.
- 8 August 2026 · NoahpinionBanning data centers would blow up the U.S. economyThere's one thing keeping us afloat right now, and people want to get rid of it.
- 4 August 2026 · NoahpinionThe end of the age of heroesAI will soon be better at math than any human. What does that mean?
- 30 July 2026 · NoahpinionWhy did South Korean stocks just crash?The AI boom creates a lot of uncertainty.
- 26 July 2026 · NoahpinionWhat will more intelligence actually do for us?A lot, actually. But it won't look quite like what humans do with our intelligence.
- 29 June 2026 · NoahpinionWill AI make companies outsource more, or less?Maybe both.
- 5 May 2026 · NoahpinionAI's big messaging pivotSome top AI leaders now say their technology will create jobs. Should we believe them?
- 27 April 2026 · NoahpinionThe moderately easy problem of consciousnessBefore deciding if computers are self-aware, let's figure out how humans become self-aware.
- 3 April 2026 · NoahpinionSalarymen, specialists, and small businessesSome brief thoughts on the (near) future of work.
- 28 March 2026 · NoahpinionPlentiful, high-paying jobs in the age of AIA timely repost, with some needed clarifications.
- 22 March 2026 · NoahpinionA conversation with ClaudeIn which a robot and I have a fun dorm-room chat about the future of science.
- 19 March 2026 · NoahpinionSave us, Digital Cronkite!Social media tore our society apart. Perhaps AI can put it back together.
- 6 March 2026 · NoahpinionIf AI is a weapon, why don't we regulate it like one?Thoughts on the fight between Anthropic and the Department of War.
- 2 March 2026 · NoahpinionSuperintelligence is already here, todayIt's going to revolutionize science. It also might take control of this planet.
- 20 February 2026 · NoahpinionDemocratic economic policy in the age of AIThe economy is changing fast. Democrats need to be a rock in the storm.
- 16 February 2026 · NoahpinionUpdated thoughts on AI riskThings have gotten scarier since 2023.
- 2 January 2026 · NoahpinionAmerica's chip export controls are workingDon't be fooled by the people who say we should sell China everything we've got.
- 1 December 2025 · NoahpinionI love AI. Why doesn't everyone?Anti-AI sentiment might or might not be rational, but it certainly relies on a lot of bad arguments.
- 22 October 2025 · NoahpinionShould we worry about AI's circular deals?AI companies are borrowing more money to invest more in AI.
- 30 August 2025 · NoahpinionAI and jobs, againSome top economists claim AI is now destroying jobs for a subset of Americans. Are they right?
- 7 October 2024 · NoahpinionWhat if everyone is wrong about what AI does?Both critics and supporters seem to think AI is a "human remover". What if they're both wrong?
- 25 July 2024 · NoahpinionYes, we still have to workThe automated luxury paradise is still just science fiction.
- 21 February 2024 · NoahpinionBook review: "Power and Progress"In which Daron Acemoglu and Simon Johnson fail to convince me that innovation needs to be steered away from automation.
- 11 June 2023 · NoahpinionWhy trying to "shape" AI innovation to protect workers is a bad ideaInstead, we should empower workers and create mechanisms for redistribution.
- 10 April 2023 · NoahpinionNobody knows how many jobs will "be automated"Whatever that even means.
- 8 March 2023 · NoahpinionLLMs are not going to destroy the human raceIt's just a chatbot, dude.
- 26 February 2023 · NoahpinionAI Techies!Everything you didn't realize you wanted to know about the denizens of Cerebral Valley
- 1 January 2023 · NoahpinionThe third magicA meditation on history, science, and AI
- 1 December 2022 · NoahpinionGenerative AI: autocomplete for everythingA joint blog post by Noah and roon on the future of work in the age of AI
- 22 September 2022 · NoahpinionLovecraftian intelligenceIs AI an incomprehensible cosmic horror?
- 5 September 2022 · NoahpinionAmerican workers need lots and lots of robotsWith the power of automation, our workers can win. Without it, they're in trouble.