Stranded Technologies Podcast · Infinita City

Ep. 77: Tyler Cowen – Unearthing the GOAT, Technological Progress in the Post-Great Stagnation Era and Special Economic Zones

January 5, 2024·58 min·5 clips

Tyler Cowen explains the stiff standards that rule out most economists for the GOAT title.

This episode features economist Tyler Cowen discussing his book on the greatest economist of all time and examining technological progress after the "Great Stagnation." Hosts explore Cowen's criteria for evaluating historical economists and his current views on innovation across various sectors. The conversation spans topics from economic theory to practical regulatory impacts on technology. Cowen explains his book evaluates figures like Milton Friedman, John Maynard Keynes, and Adam Smith based on originality, historical importance, and a mix of micro and macro contributions. He notes John Stuart Mill's wide-ranging expertise across 32 volumes of work, covering topics from antiquity to women's rights. The discussion highlights Friedrich Hayek's unique blend of continental Germanic and Anglo-American intellectual traditions. Cowen argues we are now exiting the "Great Stagnation," citing mRNA vaccines, AI progress, and new weight loss drugs like Ozempic as evidence. He acknowledges regulatory hurdles in sectors like biotech and finance but sees computational advances driving biomedical breakthroughs. The conversation covers Peter Thiel's views on monopoly, noting that successful tech companies often occupy unique market spaces without direct competitors. Cowen expresses skepticism about crypto as a major currency competitor to the US dollar, viewing it more as a complement for specific use cases like international transactions. He criticizes mainstream monetary economists for having little interesting to say about cryptocurrency. The episode includes Cowen's view that AI will likely lower existential risk on net and that the greatest danger is another country like China leading in AI development. A memorable moment is Cowen's suggestion that Vitalik Buterin and Satoshi Nakamoto deserve Nobel Prizes for their economic contributions through cryptocurrency. He observes that earlier economists like Smith and Mill were sophisticated general thinkers not constrained by modern peer review processes. Cowen also notes the FTC's current regulatory approach to big tech as arbitrary and poorly managed. The tone is conversational and intellectually exploratory, blending economic history with contemporary policy analysis. The style is educational, with the host posing specific questions to draw out Cowen's evaluations and predictions. Listeners interested in economic history, technology policy, and debates around innovation regulation would find this episode engaging. Those seeking highly technical discussions on cryptocurrency mechanics or detailed AI safety frameworks might find the coverage too broad.

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