Even if the internet did not deliver the cornucopian explosion of ideas libertarians fantasized about in 1999 (and arguably contributed to conformity and wokeness), it was counterfactually better than the alternative of having no internet at all—and the same logic supports pursuing AI despite its risks, because the alternative is total stagnation.
normativepending
Speaker
Peter ThielEvidence Quote
“counterfactually, I would argue that it was still better than the alternative, that if we hadn't had the internet, maybe it would have been worse... And the alternative is nothing at all.”
Source
A.I., Mars and Immortality: Are We Dreaming Big Enough? | Interesting Times with Ross Douthat— Interesting Times with Ross DouthatCreated: 6/18/2026, 2:32:27 PM
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