# Artificial intelligence is scary. But history reminds us that tech makes lives better, not worse

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/artificial-intelligence-is-scary-but-history-reminds-us-that-tech-makes-lives-better-not-worse/
- Published: 2026-11-13T20:35:31+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-13T21:41:01+00:00
- Original publisher: New York Post (publisher lean: Right)
- Original article: https://nypost.com/2026/11/13/opinion/artificial-intelligence-is-scary-but-history-reminds-us-that-tech-makes-lives-better-not-worse/
- Topics: AI, Americas, Technology, World

## Key points

- The article argues technology has improved lives across history.
- It contrasts modern abundance with pre-industrial hardship.
- It says AI fears should be viewed in that historical context.

## Summary

The article argues that fears about artificial intelligence should be weighed against technology’s historical role in improving living standards. Drawing on a new book by Chelsea Follett, it challenges nostalgia for pre-industrial life and says past innovations, including those of the Industrial Revolution, brought broad gains in comfort, health and prosperity.

It describes earlier hardships such as dark, unsafe cities, scarce heating and sanitation, and high rates of childhood death. The article says average real GDP per person in Western Europe rose 136% from 1820 to 1910, while life expectancy increased by more than a decade; today, around 2% of people in developed countries work as farmers, compared with up to 90% in many pre-industrial economies.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.